'  LIBRARY  OF  THE  ' 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


IN  MEMORY  OF 
STEWART  S.  HOWE 
JOURNALISM  CLASS  OF  1928 


STEWART  S.  HOWE  FOUNDATION 


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DEDICATION 


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ARD  OF  TRAD 


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BOARD  OF  TRADE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO. 


Dedichtory  sed  Bmquet  Addresses, 


Chicago,  Wednesday,  April  29,  1885. 


o>- 


STENOGRAPHIC  REPORT  BY 
PETTIT  BRIOT  &  CO.,  726  CHICAGO  OPERA  HOUSE 


JOHN  MORRIS  COMPANY,  FRINTERS,  CHICAGO, 


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OFFICERS 

—OF  THE— 

BOARD  OF  TRADE 

— OF  THE — 

CITY  OF  CHICAGO 

—FOR— 

1885.  . 


E.  NELSON  BLAKE,  President. 


GEO.  T.  SMITH, 

1st  Vice-President. 


JAMES  H.  MILNE, 

2d  Vice-President. 


DIRECTORS  : 


Term  Expiring  1880. 

G.  H.  WHEELER, 
GEO.  D.  RUMSEY, 

L.  G.  HOLLEY, 

J.  M.  BALL, 

J.  J.  BRYANT. 


Term  Expiring  1887. 

W.  S.  SEAYERNS, 

J.  C.  HATELY, 

W.  H.  CROCKER. 
EDMUND  NORTON, 
W.  W.  CATLIN. 


Term  Expiring  1888. 

G.  G.  MOORE, 

GEO.  J.  BRINE, 

W.  H.  BEEBE, 

W.  D.  GREGORY, 
GEO.  G.  PARKER. 


GEO.  F.  STONE,  Secretary.  ORSON  SMITH,  Treasurer. 

THOS.  WHITNEY,  Asst.  Secretary. 


BOARD  OF  REAL  ESTATE  MANAGERS  : 

E.  NELSON  BLAKE,  President. 

D.  W.  IRWIN,  CHAS.  COUNSELMAN,  JOHN  R.  BENSLEY, 

WM.  DICKINSON. 

R.  S.  WORTHINGTON,  Secretary. 


* 


STANDING  COMMITTEES. 


EXECUTIVE  . 

FINANCE  : 

G.  T.  SMITH,  J.  H.  MILNE, 

G.  D.  RUMSEY. 

G  H.  WHEELER,  J.  C.  HATELY, 
G.  G.  MOORE. 

MEMBERSHIP  : 

ROOMS : 

W.  W.  CATLIN,  L.  G.  HOLLEY, 

G.  G.  PARKER. 

W.  S.  SEAVERNS,  L.  G.  HOLLEY, 
W.  Ii.  BEEBE. 

MARKET  REPORTS : 

PROVISION  INSPECTION  : 

J.  H.  MILNE,  J.  M.  BALL, 

J.  C.  HATELY,  HENRY  BOTSFORD, 
S.  A.  KENT,  J.  G.  BEAZLEY, 

J.  J.  BRYANT. 

R.  L.  ROLOSON. 

( 

FLOUR  INSPECTION  : 

FLAX  SEED  INSPECTION  : 

W.  H.  CROCKER,  L.  G.  HOLLEY, 
E.  NORTON,  ISAAC  PIESER, 

C.  REIFSNIDER. 

L.  G  HOLLElr,  W.  H.  BEEBE, 

A.  M.  HENDERSON,  S.  D.  FOSS, 

A.  C.  LAUSTEN. 

OTHER  INSPECTION  : 

CLEARING  HOUSE  : 

W.  S.  SEAVERNS,  E.  NORTON, 

W.  D.  GREGORY. 

G.  D.  RUMSEl",  J.  M.  BALL, 

W.  D.  GREGORY. 

COMMERCIAL  BUILDING  : 

RULES : 

E.  NORTON,  J.  J.  BRYANT, 

G.  G.  PARKER. 

G.  D.  RUMSEY,  G.  H.  WHEELER, 
W.  LI.  CROCKER,  W.  W.  CATLIN, 
G.  J.  BRINE. 

LEGAL  ADVICE  : 

COMMISSIONS. 

J.  M.  BALL,  J.  J.  BRYANT, 

W.  W.  CATLIN. 

J.  J.  BRY"ANT,  E.  NORTON, 

W.  D.  GREGORY". 

STANDING  COMMITTEES. 


TRANSPORTATION  : 

J.  C.  HATELY,  W.  S.  SEAVERNS,  G.  G.  MOORE,  A.  M.  WRIGHT, 
C.  E.  CULVER,  WM.  DUNN,  J.  H.  NORTON. 


WAREHOUSES  : 


WEIGHING  : 


G.  H.  WHEELER,  J.  C.  HATELY, 
G.  J.  BRINE. 


W.  H.  BEEBE,  G.  D.  RUMSEY, 
W.  H.  CROCKER, 


DISTILLING  SPIRITS  : 

J.  M.  BALL,  E.  NORTON, 

G.  G.  PARKER. 


METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS  : 


G.  G.  MOORE,  W.  S.  SEAVERNS, 
W.  D.  GREGORY. 


CLAIMS  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  BUSINESS: 

W.  W.  CATLIN,  G.  II.  WHEELER,  J.  J.  BRYANT, 

W.  H.  CROCKER,  G.  J.  BRINE. 


INSPECTORS. 


Inspector  and  Registrar  of  Provisions, 
Inspector  of  Flour, 

Inspector  of  Flaxseed, 

Inspector  of  Sample  Grain, 

Inspector  of  Hay,  - 

Weigher  of  Packing  House  Product, 

Weigher  of  Other  Commodities, 


C.  H.  S.  MIXER. 

R.  W.  RATHBORNE. 

S.  H.  STEVENS. 

H.  B.  OWEN. 

JOHN  WADE. 

C.  H.  S.  MIXER. 
JOHN  WADE. 


COMMITTEE  OF  ARBITRATION. 


Teem  Expiring  18S6. 

WM.  GARDNER,  F.  G.  KAMMERER,  J.  C.  MERRILL, 

G.  W.  PHILLIPS,  F.  G.  LOGAN. 


Term  Expiring  1887. 


W.  B.  WATERS, 

L.  H.  ASH, 


J.  J.  BADENOCH,  J.  R.  HODSON, 

C.  B.  CONGDON. 


COMMITTEE  OF  APPEALS. 


Term  Expiring  1886. 

J.  B.  HOBBS,  Z.  R  CARTER,  A.  EDDY,  Jr., 

P.  B.  WEARE,  N.  T.  WRIGHT. 


Term  Expiring  1887. 


JAS.  C.  ROGERS,  GEO.  H.  SI  DWELL,  J.  J.  McDERMID. 


H.  H.  ALDRICH, 


JAS.  L.  WARD. 


PRELIMINARY  COMMITTEE 


APPOINTED  BY  THE  DIRECTORS  IN  VIEW  OF  DEDICATING  THE  NEW 

BUILDING. 

A.  M.  WRIGHT,  J.  C.  HATELY.  G.  T.  SMITH,  H.  W.  ROGERS, 
C.  L.  HUTCHINSON,  C.  D.  HAMILL,  G.  H.  WHEELER, 

C.  H.  ADAMS. 


Upon  report  of  the  Preliminary  Committee,  an  Executive 
Committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  the  following 
named  gentlemen: 


E.  NELSON  BLAKE,  Chairman.  H.  W.  ROGERS, 


A.  M.  WRIGHT, 

J.  H.  MILNE, 

J.  C.  BLACK, 

J.  C.  HATELY, 

J.  H.  NORTON, 

ALEXANDER  GEDDES, 
J.  H.  DWIGHT, 


C.  H.  ADAMS, 

G.  H.  WHEELER, 

C.  L.  HUTCHINSON, 

G.  J.  BRINE, 

G.  T.  SMITII, 

ROBT.  WARREN, 

W.  S.  SEAVERNS. 


Subsequently, the  following  Special  Committees  'were  appointed: 


COMMITTEE  ON  FINANCE. 

€.  L.  HUTCHINSON,  J.  C.  BLACK,  G.  H.  WHEELER. 

COMMITTEE  ON  PRINTING. 

J.  C.  HATELY,  A.  M.  WRIGHT,  J.  H.  NORTON, 


G.  T.  SMITH, 


G.  J.  BRINE. 


COMMITTEE  ON  BANQUET. 


G.  H.  WHEELER,  ALEXANDER  GEDDES,  R.  WARREN, 

J.  H.  NORTON,  J.  C.  BLACK. 


COMMITTEE  ON  EVENING  ENTERTAINMENT. 

G.  T.  SMITH,  C.  L.  HUTCHINSON,  W.  S.  SEAVERNS, 

J.  H.  DWIGHT,  G.  J.  BRINE. 


COMMITTEE  ON  DEDICATION  EXERCISES. 

A.  M.  WRIGHT,  J.  H.  MILNE,  J.  C.  HATELY, 

H.  W.  ROGERS,  C.  H.  ADAMS. 


COMMITTEE  ON  MUSIC. 

C.  D.  HAMILL,  C.  H.  TAYLOR,  E.  F.  CHAPIN, 

D.  W.  BAKER,  A.  E.  CLARK. 


COMMITTEE  ON  INVITATIONS. 


G.  T.  SMITH, 


G.  H.  WHEELER 


C.  L.  HUTCHINSON 


The  following  named  gentlemen  composed  the 


f 

FLOOR  committee: 

C.  H.  ADAMS,  Chairman. 

H.  H.  ALDRICH,  L.  H.  ASH, 


GEO.  C.  BALL, 

H.  BAUSHER,  Jr. 

W.  F.  BLAIR, 

E.  W.  BAILEY, 

H.  H.  CARR, 

R.  G.  CHANDLER, 

R.  W.  CLARKE, 

W.  F.  COBB, 

W.  S.  CROSBY, 

W.  C.  DUELL, 

J.  B.  DUTCH, 

B.  A.  ECKHART, 

S.  D.  ELDRIDGE,  FRANK  FLOYD, 


C.  S.  FRENCH, 

H.  G.  GAYLORD, 

A.  W.  GREEN, 

E.  A.  HAMILL, 

JNO.  S.  HANNAH, 

F.  S.  HANSON, 

J.  B.  KITCHEN, 

M.  C.  LIGHTER, 

F.  G.  LOGAN, 

J.  M.  LOVE, 

Y.  W.  MACFARLANE,  F.  J.  MARTIN 

W.  E.  Me  HENRY,  \V.  E.  McQUSSTON, 

GEO.  W.  MONTGOMERY,  G.  W.  MURISON, 


E.  H.  NOYES, 

P.  P.  OLDERSHAW, 

ARTHUR  ORR, 

A.  A.  PARKER, 

C.  A.  ROGERS, 

J.  W.  RUMSEY, 

J.  C.  SHAFFER, 

J.  W.  SYKES, 

E.  0.  SEYMOUR, 

GEO.  WARD, 

JAS.  WARD, 

S.B.  WEBBER, 

W.  R.  WALKER,  J.  R.  WINTERBOTHAM, 


E.  T.  WHEELER. 


The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Trade  Associations  represented 
and  the  Delegates  representing  same: 


A  TLANTA  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE ,  Atlanta ,  Ga. 
AARON  HAAS,  S.  F.  WOODSON. 

OMAHA  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Omaha ,  Neb. 

MAX  MEYER,  P.  E.  HERR. 

LOUISVILLE  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Louisville ,  A>. 

C.  T.  BALLARD,  T.  H.  SHULEY. 

ST.  PAUL  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE ,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
P.  H.  KELLEY,  MAURICE  AUEIBACH. 


COMMERCIAL  EXCHANGE  OF  PHILADELPHIA,  Philadelphia ,  Pa. 
GEO.  W.  ELKINS,  J.  0.  FOERING,  WALTER  G.  WILSON, 
SETH  Q.  COMLEY,  WILSON  WELSH.  R.  D.  WORK. 

ELGIN  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Elgin,  III. 

S.  R.  BARHOLOMU,  R.  P.  GLINCY. 


PEORIA  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Peoria,  III. 

B.  WARREN,  Jr.,  SAMUEL  WOOLNER. 

BALTIMORE  CORN  AND  FLOUR  EXCHANGE ,  Baltimore,  Md. 
GEO.  H.  BALL,  R.  M.  WYLE,  F.  A.  WHEELER. 


MINNEAPOLIS  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE ,  Minneapolis ,  Minn. 
G.  A.  P1LLSBURG,  H.  W.  PRATT,  JNO.  CROSBY, 

M.  W.  YUXA,  WM.  GRIFFITH. 


BURLINGTON  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Burlington ,  /ota. 
HON.  T.  M.  BACHYDT,  MAYOR  ADAMS. 


DETROIT  BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Detroit ,  Mich. 

JNO.  MENDELL,  A.  G.  ELLAIR,  E.  M.  BUSSEL,  J.  M.  FLINN. 

I 

CLEVELAND  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Cleveland ,  Ohio. 

R.  T.  LYON,  H.  D.  GOULDER. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Sacramento,  Cal. 

JOS.  STEFFENS,  GEO.  E.  BATES. 

BOSTON  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE ,  Boston , 

WALLACE  F.  ROBINSON,  Pres.  JAS.  E.  WHITTAKER,  Sec’y. 

BOSTON  COMMERCIAL  EXCHANGE ,  Boston,  A/«js. 
EDWARD  KEMBLE,  F.  W.  CHENEY. 


BOARD  OP'  TRADE,  San  Fransisco,  Cal. 

JULES  CERF,  WALTER  M.  HAMLEY. 


ALBANY  BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Albany,  N.  V. 


D.  C.  BENNFTT, 


W.  0.  ELMORE. 


MOBILE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE ,  Mobile,  Ala. 


W.  H.  ROSS,  T.  FARCHIMER. 


TORONTO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  Toronto , 

H.  W.  DARLING,  W.  W.  MATTHEWS,  E.  A.  WILLS,  H.  W.  NELSON. 


INDIANAPOLIS  BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
E.  B.  MARTINDALE,  D.  BLACKMORE. 


DULUTH  BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Duluth,  Minn. 

Hon.  J.  D.  ENSIGN,  A.  J.  SAWYER,  T.  B.  CASEY,  R.  S.  HUNGER. 


MERCHANTS'  EXCHANGE,  Memphis ,  Tenn. 
W.  J.  CffASE,  T.  B.  TREZEYANT. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

J.  H.  WINDSOR,  J.  P.  BUSHNELL. 


BOARD  OF  COMMERCE ,  Quincy ,  III. 
DELEGATES  NOT  NAMED. 


DENVER  BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Denver,  Col. 
JAS.  F.  MATTHEWS. 


PRODUCE  EXCHANGE ,  Wilmington,  N.  C. 


JAS.  I.  NEETTS, 


J.  L.  CANTWELL,  J.  R.  TURENTIVE. 


CORN  EXCHANGE  ASSOCIATION,  Montreal,  Can. 
DELEGATES  NOT  NAMED. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

JNO.  F.  DRAVO,  JOS.  B.  SEIBENECK. 

NEW  YORK  PRODUCE  EXCHANGE,  N.  Y. 
FRANKLIN  WOODRUFF,  J.  H.  HEINCK,  FRANKLIN  EDSON, 
J.  H.  HODGSON,  E.  S.  WHITMAN,  G.  B.  HOPKINS, 

J.  L.  HOPPOCK,  JNO.  SINCLAIR,  S.  A.  SAWYER, 
FRANKLIN  QUIMLY,  ASA  STEAVENS. 

BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Newark,  N  % 

GEO.  B.  JENKINS. 

KANSAS  CITY  BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Kansas  City ,  Mo. 

B.  C.  CRISTOPHER,  W.  WITHERS,  T.  B.  BELENE, 

J.  J.  SQUIRES,  C.  G.  PERRIN. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Savannah,  Ga. 

DELEGATES  NOT  NAMED. 

MERCHANTS’  EXCHANGE,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

C.  L.  HEDSTROM,  W.  THURSTONE,  T.  LOOMIS,  E.  B.  SMITH, 

A.  J.  WRIGHT. 


MERCHANTS’  EXCHANGE,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

S.  W.  COBB,  E.  0.  STANARD,  W.  M.  SAMUEL,  D!  P.  GRIER, 
C.  F.  ORTHWEIN,  G.  H.  MORGAN. 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE ,  San  Francisco,  Cal . 

D.  0.  MILLS,  C.  A.  LOW,  C.  B.  STONE. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  Milwaukee,  IVis. 

JOHN  JOHNSTON,  HUGUS  SMITH,  CHARLES  RAY,  0.  J.  HALE 
E.  SANDERSON,  C.  F.  FREEMAN. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Boston,  Mass. 

A.  H.  HARDY,  C.  Y.  CAMBELL. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

Col.  A.  S.  COLYAN,  G.  S.  KENNY. 

BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

W.  J.  KNIGHT,  E.  M.  DICKEY. 

STOCK  EXCHANGE,  New  York. 

J.  D.  SMITH,  E.  S.  CHAPIN,  C.  W.  STEAD,  A.  De  CORDOVA. 

CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  Denver ,  Col. 

Col.  J.  F.  MATTHEWS,  Hon.  T.  M.  PATTERSON. 

PRODUCE  EXCHANGE,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

W.  H.  BELLMAN,  W.  F.  CARRINGTON,  H.  S.  YOUNG, 

C.  A.  KING. 


PRODUCE  EXCHANGE,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
M.  COSTIGAN. 

•COMMERCIAL  EXCHANGE,  Philadelphia ,  Pa. 
E.  L.  ROGERS,  G.  W.  ELKINS. 


THE  NATIONAL  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


President,  FREDERICK  FRALEY,  Philadelphia. 
Vice-President,  FRANK  FRICK,  Baltimore. 

WILLIAM  S.  YOUNG,  Baltimore.  WILLIAM  0.  BLANEY,  Boston. 
ALPHEUS  H.  HARDY,  Boston.  OSCAR  H.  SAMPSON,  Boston. 
EDWARD  W.  SEYMOUR,  Bridgeport.  GEO.  M.  HOW,  Chicago. 

S.  F.  COVINGTON,  Cincinnati.  PHILO  PARSON,  Detroit 

JOHN  H.  HOLLIDAY,  Indianapolis.  E.  P.  BACON,  Milwaukee. 

C.  M.  LORING,  Minneapolis. 

AMBROSE  SNOW,  New  York. 

JOHN  P.  WITHEREL,  Philadelphia. 

JAS.  W.  KIMBALL,  Providence. 

J.  A..  PRICE,  Scranton,  Pa. 


N.  D.  SPERRY,  New  Haven. 

J.  S.  T.  STRANAHAN,  N.Y. 
JOSEPH  N.  DOLPH,  Portland,  Ore. 
JOHN  F.  MILLER,  San  Francisco- 
D.  M.  SABIN,  St.  Paul. 


JAMES  BUCHANAN,  Trenton,  N.  Y. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE ,  Providence,  R.  I. 

J.  M.  KIMBALL,  W.  R.  KIMBALL. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE,  Newark,  N.  J. 

J.  B.  JENKINS. 

PROVISION  AND  TRADE  ASSOCIATION,  Liverpool,  Eng. 
STANFORD  WHITE. 

GRAIN  AND  COTTON  EXCHANGE,  Richmond,  Va. 

J.  SPOTTSWOOD  CRANSHAW,  G.  W.  DONNAN. 


CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

W.  W.  PEABODY,  ADOLPH  WOOD,  C.  B.  MURRAY,  H.  C.  URNER, 
W.  M.  HOBART,  S.  D.  MAXWELL. 


AT  10:25  o’clock  President  E.  Nelson  Blake 
arose  from  beside  the  Rev.  Dr.  Clinton 
Locke  and  Emery  A.  Storrs,  advanced  to  the 
floral-crowned  desk  at  the  edge  of  the  platform, 
loudly  rapped  the  assemblage  to  order,  and 
said  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  (Board  of  Trade  of  the 
City  of  Chicago  and  our  guests: — The  hour  has 
arrived  for  opening  these  formal  exercises 
dedicating  this  building,  and  I  now  ask  you 
to  unite  in  the  dedicating  prayer,  which  will  be 
offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Clinton  Locke. 

Dr.  Locke,  rightly  chosen  for  such  an  occa¬ 
sion,  being  as  he  is  the  clergyman  who  has 
longest  ministered  to  any  single  Chicago  par¬ 
ish  or  congregation,  advanced  to  the  front  of 


6 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


the  platform,  clad  in  his  clerical  gown.  Sim¬ 
ply  and  devoutly  he  offered  the  following 
prayer : 

Almighty  God,  maker  of  all  things,  judge  of 
all  men,  look  down  upon  us  as  we  begin  this 
day  by  confessing  Thy  Kingship  and  Thy  Fa¬ 
therhood.  We  have  met  to  dedicate  to  the 
trade  and  commerce  of  this  city,  this  noble 
temple  ;  and  as  our  forefathers  ever  did,  and  as 
we  pray  Thee  our  descendants  may  ever  do, 
we  would  first  ask  Thy  blessing  on  our  work. 
We  acknowledge  that  from  Thee  came  the 
wealth  and  the  energy  and  the  skill  which  has 
enabled  us  to  build  this  place  for  doing  the 
work  it  has  fallen  to  our  lot  to  do.  And  now 
that  we  have  built  it,  wilt  Thou  put  it  into  our 
hearts  to  keep  its  courts  clear  from  dishonesty 
and  fraud,  and  sharp  practice,  and  feverish,  un¬ 
healthy  traffic.  May  nothing  be  permitted  to 
enter  here  that  will  stain  the  honor  of  the  com- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


7 


pany  of  the  merchants  of  this  city,  or  make  us 
a  by-word  among  the  traders  of  the  earth. 
Bless  all  our  honest  efforts  to  increase  our 
wealth  and  extend  our  commerce.  Thou  lov- 
est  to  see  Thy  children  striving  in  every  way 
to  better  their  worldly  condition.  It  is  good 
for  man  to  work,  to  struggle,  to  contend  in 
generous  rivalry.  Thou  dost  not  bless  the 
idle  and  the  improvident.  But  help  us,  oh 
Lord,  to  make  a  good  use  of  our  gains,  and 
may  we,  not  caring  selfishly  only  for  ourselves, 
be  ever  ready  to  help  a  needy  brother.  Thou 
hast  greatly  blessed  us,  oh  God.  “We  went 
through  fire  and  water,  but  Thou  broughtest 
us  out  into  a  wealthy  place.”  No  city  in  the 
world  hast  Thou  prospered  more  than  this  city, 
and  may  we  show  our  gratitude  by  striving  to 
keep  Thy  commandments  and  walk  in  Thy 
ways.  Keep  us  from  vain  boasting,  from  pride 
of  riches,  from  over-confidence  ;  keep  far  from 


8 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


us  war  and  pestilence,  and  lawlessness,  and 
atheism  ;  and  as  we  begin  a  grander  business 
life  in  this  house,  may  we  say:  “Thine,  oh 
Lord,  is  the  greatness,  and  the  power,  and  the 
glory,  and  the  victory,  and  the  majesty,  for  all 
that  is  in  the  Heaven  and  in  the  Earth  is  Thine. 
Thine  is  the  kingdom,  oh  Lord,  and  Thou  art 
exalted  as  head  above  all.  Riches  and  honor 
came  of  Thee  and  of  Thine  own  have  we 
given  Thee.”  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Spirit,  Amen. 


(MUSIC.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


9 


DELIVERING  THE  KEYS,  BY  JOHN  R.  BENSLEY. 

In  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Real  Estate  Man¬ 
agers,  Mr.  John  R.  Bensley,  the  Chairman, 
turned  over  the  building  to  the  President  of 
the  Board  of  Trade,  making  the  following  re¬ 
marks  : 

Mr.  (President :  The  Board  of  Real  Estate 
Managers  have  completed  the  work  assigned 
them,  and  by  their  favor  I  am  delegated  to 
make  a  formal  surrender  to  you  of  this  hall 
and  all  that  part  of  the  building  designed 
for  the  use  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  This 
day  marks  an  epoch  in  the  annals  of  this,  our 
sturdy  commonwealth. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  an  account  of 
the  birth,  the  struggles  and  the  triumphs  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  of  the  City  of  Chicago. 


IO 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Its  history  is  an  essential  part  of  the  history 
of  our  city,  of  the  great  West,  yes,  of  the 
country.  It  has  passed  the  adolescent  period, 
and  stands  in  the  full  strength  of  its  manhood, 
the  foremost  commercial  organization  in  the 
land. 

Five  years  ago  the  necessity  for  increased 
facilities  and  better  accommodations  made 
itself  felt,  and  steps  were  taken  to  meet  these 
requirements. 

A  year  was  spent  in  securing  the  property 
on  which  this  building  stands — a  task  fraught 
with  more  difficulties  than  those  not  fully  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  circumstances  can  well  com¬ 
prehend. 

Having  obtained  the  property,  the  associa¬ 
tion  created  a  new  branch  in  its  government, 
styled  the  Board  of  Real  Estate  Managers, 
giving  into  its  control  the  real  estate  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  authorizing  it  to  borrow 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  II 

money  upon  the  credit  of  the  association,  and 
instructing-  it  to  build  on  the  property  at  such 
cost  and  in  such  manner  as  the  managers  should 
elect. 

The  present  members  of  the  board  were 
elected  by  ballot  in  the  fall  of  1 88 1 ,  and  imme¬ 
diately  entered  upon  the  duties  of  their  office. 
From  that  time  until  the  present  this  work  has 
required,  and  has  received,  their  constant  at¬ 
tention. 

Within  the  very  nature  of  the  case  they  had 
to  be,  in  an  important  sense,  the  architects  of 
the  work.  No  matter  how  eminent  the  skill 
employed,  no  one  not  a  member  of  the  associ¬ 
ation  could  determine  what  its  needs  were. 

They  called  to  their  aid  architects  of  experi¬ 
ence  and  renown,  and  enlisted  the  best  obtain¬ 
able  talent  to  construct  and  decorate. 

It  has  been  their  aim  to  present  a  building 
that  would  furnish  abundance  of  first-class  fa- 


12 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


cilities  for  the  transaction  of  business,  be  self- 
sustaining,  and  at  the  same  time  be  a  credit  to 
the  association,  and  an  object  of  pride  to  our 
citizens. 

The  result  of  their  efforts  is  before  you,  and 
if  it  meet  with  the  approval  of  those  they  la¬ 
bored  to  serve,  they  will  have  received  their 
reward. 

If  they  have  achieved  success,  it  is  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  members  of  the  Board 
of  Managers,  including  the  President  of  the 
association,  have  been  in  absolute  accord,  and 
have  received  the  confidence  and  support  of 
the  Board  of  Directors. 

I  should  do  violence  to  the  sentiment  enter¬ 
tained  by  the  managers  should  I  omit  to  ex¬ 
press  their  appreciation  of  the  eminently  valu¬ 
able  services  rendered  in  this  undertaking  by 
their  architect,  superintendent,  engineer  and 
secretary. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


13 


There  are  many  things  connected  with  the 
removal  of  the  Board  of  Trade  to  this  locality, 
and  the  erection  of  this  building  that  are 
proper  subjects  for  congratulation. 

The  citizens  of  Chicago  are  to  be  congrat¬ 
ulated  because  the  removal  has  enlarged 
the  business  center  of  our  ever-growing  city, 
brought  into  requisition  a  vast  amount  of  here¬ 
tofore  unproductive  real  estate,  added  more 
than  a  score  of  millions  of  dollars  to  the  value 
of  property  within  a  radius  of  half  a  mile, 
transformed  a  waste  and  desert  place  into 
a  crowded  mart,  and  called  into  existence 
as  if  by  magic,  long  lines  of  lofty,  peerless 
business  blocks,  the  wonder  and  envy  of 
the  age. 

It  is  a  subject  of  congratulation  to  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  this  association  that  they  are  to  occupy 
a  new  and  beautiful  business  home,  equipped 
with  all  the  appliances  to  comfort  and  cleanli- 


H 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


ness,  and  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  light 
and  air. 

Emerging  from  the  cramped  quarters  that 
have  heretofore  fettered  and  galled  us,  and 
feeling  the  vigor  born  of  a  greater  liberty,  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  believe  that  in  entering- 
here  to-day,  we  also  enter  upon  an  era  of  re¬ 
newed  growth,  of  an  enlarged  usefulness,  and 
of  a  more  permanent  prosperity. 

It  is  with  feelings  of  unalloyed  pleasure  that 
the  managers  are  able  to  surrender  to  the  as¬ 
sociation,  not  alone  commodious  and  magnifi¬ 
cent  halls,  with  elaborate  apartments  attached, 
the  maintenance  of  which  might  prove  a  seri¬ 
ous  burden  to  our  members,  but  to  accompany 
them  with  a  rich  endowment  in  the  shape  of 
an  annual  rent-roll  of  more  than  #120,000,  a 
sum  of  money  not  only  sufficient  to  pay  all  in¬ 
terest  charges  and  all  the  expenses  of  main¬ 
taining  the  property,  but  also  to  put  into  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


15 


treasury  annually  a  large  sum  to  be  disposed 
of  as  circumstances  may  hereafter  dictate. 

This  pfives  to  the  association  the  use  of  these 
fine  accommodations  absolutely  free  of  cost. 

And,  now,  sir,  on  behalf  of  the  Board  of 
Managers,  it  is  my  pleasant  duty  to  surrender 
to  you,  the  recognized  representative  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  these  keys  and  the  possession 
of  these  magnificent  halls  of  trade  and  their 
collateral  apartments. 

Keep  them  well.  Let  the  association  guard 
with  jealous  care  against  every  assault  upon  its 
integrity,  whether  it  come  from  within  or  from 
without.  Let  it  scourge  from  these  floors  as 
with  a  whip  of  scorpions  all  fraud,  all  extor¬ 
tion,  and  all  that  maketh  a  lie. 

Let  this  temple  of  commerce  be  a  temple 
of  justice.  Continue  to  cultivate  here  that 
code  of  commercial  ethics,  and  all  those  graces 
which  should  govern  and  adorn  the  enlight- 


i6 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


ened  Christian  merchant,  and  we  may  rest 
assured  that  prosperity  will  go  hand  in  hand 
with  enterprise  all  along  a  sure  road  to  abun¬ 
dant  success. 


THE  ACCEPTANCE  BY  PRESIDENT  BLAKE. 

The  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  the 
Hon.  E.  Nelson  Blake,  then  spoke  as  follows: 

Chairman  (Bensley :  It  gives  me  great 
pleasure  as  the  representative  of  this  Board  of 
Trade,  and  personally  to  meet  you  here  to-day 
for  this  purpose  in  this  beautiful  hall,  and  as  the 
Board  of  Managers,  for  whom  you  speak  and 
act,  thus  hand  over  to-day  the  result  of  your 
labors  for  the  past  five  years,  you  may  well  feel 
proud  of  the  efforts  you  have  made,  and  we 
believe  that  every  stick  and  stone,  every  brick 
and  beam,  is  a  true  representative  of  an  honest 
indebtedness. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


17 


With  foundations  rooted  deep  in  the  solid 
earth,  quarried  and  chiseled  from  the  everlast¬ 
ing  rocks,  bound  and  girded  with  bands  of  iron 
and  steel,  shaped,  beautified,  and  adorned  by 
man’s  most  skillful  fingers,  it  stands  to-day  a 
noble,  elegant  monument  of  business  enter¬ 
prise,  and  proudly  we  ask,  what  other  associ¬ 
ated  body  could  have  gathered,  closely  nestling 
to  its  side,  such  towering  piles  of  magnificent 
blocks  as  here  surround  us?  Not  broader  and 
more  massive  are  its  walls,  not  more  elevated 
its  tower,  not  firmer  or  deeper  its  foundation 
than  should  be  the  height  and  length,  and 
breadth  and  depth  and  stability  of  the  business 
principles  that  actuate  this  membership;  and  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  less  litigation  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  magnitude,  and  the  immensity  of 
the  transactions,  takes  place  among  our  mem¬ 
bers  than  among  other  people  in  any  depart¬ 
ment  of  business  in  any  place  on  earth,  for  no 


1 8  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

man  of  questionable  business  or  moral  charac¬ 
ter  can  become  a  member  of  this  body.  It 
would  be  surprising’  when  1,935  selfish  human 
beings  meet  in  the  hot  strife  for  gain  if  there 
were  not  a  few  attempts  at  fraud,  or  extortion, 
or  “theft  maketh  a  lie,”  but  I  can  assure  you, 
sir,  that  with  this  noble  company  of  honorable 

men,  to  sustain  your  officers,  the  attempts  will 

'  *  * 

be  futile.  The  mass  of  the  people  give  right 
decisions,  and  come  to  right  conclusions,  and 
the  growth  of  this  Board  from  infancy  to  now 
shows  its  hold  upon  the  business  convictions  of 
the  world.  It  is  not  responsible  for  the  abuses 
of  its  system  that  have  grown  up  all  over  the 
land  any  more  than  pure  and  undefiled  religion 
is  responsible  for  hypocrisy.  Its  prosperity  is 
based  upon  a  sure  foundation  of  right  and  jus¬ 
tice,  its  present  position  has  grown  out  of  its 
past  life,  its  future  is  being  made  to-day,  and 
its  to-day  is  the  foundation  of  its  perpetuity. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


19 


Permit  me,  sir,  and  you,  gentlemen  of  the 
Board,  all,  to  congratulate  you  that  for  the  first 
time  in  our  history  we  are  at  home,  under  our 
own  roof-tree,  a  wanderer  and  a  tenant  no 
more;  and  we  welcome  to  this,  our  house¬ 
warming,  our  brethren  from  all  over  the  land, 
members  of  kindred  organizations';  our  elder 
and  our  younger  brothers;  and  gentlemen  from 
the  Gulf,  and  from  the  great  lakes,  from  the 
Atlantic  and  from  the  Pacific,  we  pledge  you 
our  best  endeavors,  and  we  crave  yours,  in  a 
united  effort  to  suppress  all  unlawful  use  of  the 
quotations  sent  abroad  from  that  telegraph 
booth.  Soon  this  hall  will  resound  with  the 

w  - 

strife  of  buyer  and  seller,  for  ever  since  Joseph 
stored  the  abundance  of  Egypt’s  years  of  plenty, 
to  enrich  Pharaoh’s  treasury  from  the  people’s 
wants  during  years  of  famine,  men  have  endeav¬ 
ored  to  forecast  the  future,  and  buy  or  sell  as 
they  were  moved  by  their  hopes  or  fears. 


20 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


And  now,  sir,  in  behalf  of  these,  my  fellow 
members,  I  accept  this  trust,  with  all  its  privi¬ 
leges,  its  duties  and  its  responsibilities.  Mag¬ 
nificent  hall !  Splendid  temple !  Beautiful  home ! 
May  peace  be  within  thy  walls,  and  prosperity 
within  thy  gates. 


(MUSIC.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


2  1 


ORATION  OF  THE  DAY  BY  THE  HON.  EMERY  A. 

STORRS. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  orator  as 
follows: 

Gentlemen  of  the  (Board  and  Guests: — It 

seems  almost  out  of  place  for  me  to  introduce 
to  you  the  orator  of  the  occasion,  and  yet  the 
duty  devolves  upon  me  to  introduce  to  you  one 
who  is  so  well  known  as  the  Hon.  Emery  A. 
Storrs. 

Mr.  Storrs  addressed  the  assemblage  as  fol¬ 
lows: 

Mr.  (President  and  Gentlemen: — It  would 
be  the  merest  affectation  were  I  to  attempt  to 
conceal  for  a  moment  my  appreciation  of  the 
distinguished  compliment  involved  in  an  invi¬ 
tation  to  address  such  a  body,  and  on  an  occa- 


22 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


sion  so  notable.  Gathered  here  to-day,  one  of 
the  most  famous  mercantile  and  trade  associa¬ 
tions  on  the  continent,  having  for  its  guests 
representatives  of  cities  everywhere,  to  cele¬ 
brate  the  completion  of  this  wonderful  temple 
dedicated  to  a  broad  and  catholic  commerce,  it 
is  indeed  a  matter  of  the  highest  compliment 
that,  drawn  from  the  ranks  of  a  great  profes¬ 
sion,  is  one  unknown  in  the  marts  of  trade,  to 
signify  as  best  he  can  the  purpose  for  which 
you  are  to-day  gathered,  and  the  history  of 
that  wonderful  body  now  known  all  around  the 
globe  as  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of 
Chicago. 

Forty  years  ago  what  is  now  known  as  the 
great  West  was  farther  removed  from  the  city 
of  New  York  than  the  remotest  confines  of 
Europe  are  separated  from  the  great  West  to¬ 
day.  What  is  now  an  empire  in  power,  popu¬ 
lation  and  wealth,  was  then  almost  an  unknown 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


23 


country;  and  nothing  more  distinctively  illus¬ 
trates  the  marvelous  increase  in  population, 
wealth  and  power  of  the  Northwest,  than  the 
growth,  from  its  first  humble  beginning  up  to 
its  present  greatness,  of  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Trade.  In  1848,  that  Chicago  was  to  be  a 
great  city,  and  that,  seated  at  the  head  of  the 
great  chain  of  lakes,  it  was  to  command  in  a 
large  measure  the  grain-growing  regions,  that 
it  was  to  be  the  center  where  should  be  gathered 
their  agricultural  products,  and  from  which 
those  products  should  be  distributed  through¬ 
out  the  world,  became  manifest  to  those  few 
hopeful  and  sagacious  men,  who,  on  the  13th 
of  March  of  that  year,  met  together  for  the 
establishment  of  a  Board  of  Trade  in  this  city. 
The  call  for  the  first  meeting  was  signed  by 
thirteen  firms  and  individuals,  and  resolutions 
were  passed,  stating  that  the  growing  trade  of 
Chicago  demanded  the  establishment  of  a 


24 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Board  of  Trade ;  a  constitution  was  adopted,  and 
a  committee  appointed  to  draw  up  by-laws, 
which  were  submitted  to  an  adjourned  meeting 
on  the  first  Monday  in  April  following,  when 
they  were  adopted. 

The  beginnings  were  very  small.  The 
annual  rent  of  the  rooms  was  $110.  But,  as 
small  as  the  Board  was  in  point  of  numbers,  it 
immediately  interested  itself  in  public  questions. 

The  first  annual  meeting  was  held  in  April, 
1849.  Steps  were  taken  to  secure  telegraphic 
reports  of  the  Eastern  markets,  and  the  hour 
for  daily  meetings  was  fixed  at  9  o’clock.  This 
young  association  devoted  itself  at  once  to  the 
regulation  of  tolls  on  the  canals,  the  condition 
of  the  harbor,  and  the  confidence  which  even 
at  that  early  day  was  reposed  in  it  is  exhibited 
by  the  fact  that  the  City  Council,  having  a 
short  time  before  made  an  appropriation  of 
$i,ooo  in  bonds,  redeemable  in  five  years  at  10 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


25 


per  cent,  placed  these  bonds  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Board. 

In  April,  1850,  the  general  law  relating  to 
the  establishment  of  the  Board  of  Trade  was 
read  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board,  and  the 
members  organized  under  the  act  passed  Feb¬ 
ruary  8,  1849,  the  title  of  the  association  being 
the  Board  of  Trade  of  the  Crty  of  Chicago,  and 
the  admission  fee  fixed  at  $5.  In  1850  a  deficit 
in  the  Treasurers  books  was  found  of  $146,  and 
the  annual  dues  were  raised  from  #2  to  $3. 
The  Board  during  this  year  was  active  in  pro¬ 
moting  the  free  navigation  of  the  River  St. 
Lawrence.  Notwithstanding  the  pressing  invi¬ 
tations  extended  to  the  members  to  meet  daily, 
but  few  of  them  did  so,  and  the  hour  of  meet¬ 
ings  was  changed  from  12,  M.,  to  1  P.  M. 

The  third  annual  meeting  was  held  in  April, 

1 85 1 ,  and  there  were  at  that  time  but  thirty- 
eight  members  in  the  association.  The  Treas- 


26 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


urer’s  books  then  showed  a  deficit  of  $165,  to 
meet  which  the  Treasurer  recommended  that 
each  member  be  assessed  $4,  which  would  very 
nearly  free  the  association  from  debt.  Charles 
Walker,  during  this  year,  was  elected  Presi- 
dent,  and  a  delegation  of  the  Board  was 
appointed  to  attend  a  convention  to  be  held  at 
Peoria,  to  consider  the  improvement  of  the 
Illinois  River.  A  daily  record  was  kept  of  the 
members  present  at  the  annual  meetings,  and 
that  record  presents  the  curious  fact  that  day 
after  day  there  were  no  members  present,  and 
on  many  occasions  no  one  present  but  the 
faithful  and  able  President,  Charles  Walker. 

In  1852  the  membership  showed  an  increase 
of  fifteen  names  during  the  year. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  trace  through  these  in¬ 
tervening  years  the  history  of  this  Board.  It 
is  enough  to  say  that  up  to  1858  its  growth 
was  exceedingly  slow,  but  that  in  the  meantime 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


27 


it  had  interested  itself  in  all  questions  of  a  gen¬ 
eral  character  affecting  the  interests  of  the  city 
and  the  Northwest.  In  1855,  at  the  seventh 
annual  meeting,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
better  attendance  of  the  members,  refreshments 
were  served  to  them  of  crackers,  cheese  and 
ale,  and  a  reading  room  projected.  In  1856 
the  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  ladies’ 
ordinary  at  the  Tremont  House.  The  year 
1858  was  a  notable  one  in  its  history.  Our 
honored  citizen,  Julian  S.  Rumsey,  was  its 
President,  and  inaugurated  the  present  system 
of  grain  inspection,  which  has  been  substan¬ 
tially  adopted  throughout  the  country,  and  has 
become  an  authority  throughout  the  world. 
During  that  year  the  first  annual  report  was 
made.  In  1859  the  Board  felt  itself  sufficiently 
strong  to  occupy  more  enlarged  rooms,  and  to 
involve  themselves  in  liabilities  for  the  pay¬ 
ment  of  an  annual  rental  of  $1,200,  which  by 


28 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


many  of  its  conservative  members  was  deemed 
to  be  very  extravagant. 

From  1859  down  to  1861  the  growth  of  the 
Board  was  exceedingly  rapid.  In  i860  the  list 
of  membership  comprised  625  names.  In  1859 
a  new  charter  was  obtained  from  the  Legisla¬ 
ture,,  conferring  upon  the  association  privileges 
commensurate  with  the  increasing  growth  of 
the  commerce  of  the  city,  and  this,  together 
with  the  new  sets  of  rules  and  regulations,  were 
formally  presented  and  adopted.  In  1861  the 
list  of  membership  had  increased  to  725,  and 
the  Board  had  a  substantial  surplus.  In  1863 
it  commenced  the  erection  of  its  new  building 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  La  Salle  and  Wash¬ 
ington  streets,  which  was  finished  and  occupied 
by  it  in  1865.  This  building  the  Board  con¬ 
tinued  to  occupy  until  its  destruction  by  fire 
on  the  9th  of  October,  1871.  It  was  rebuilt 
within  a  year,  and  the  new  building  has  been 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


29 


occupied  by  them  since  that  time  up  to  to-day. 
The  list  of  membership  has  increased  to  nearly 
2,000.  The  transactions  of  the  Board  attract 
the  attention  of  the  commercial  world.  The 
history  of  this  magnificent  temple,  dedicated  to 
an  honorable  commerce,  has  already  been  told 
you,  and  it  is  for  the  formal  dedication  of  this 
splendid  structure  to  so  great  a  purpose  that 
we  are  to-day  assembled. 

The  Board  of  Trade  of  the  City  of  Chicago  is 
worthy  of  such  a  home.  Considering  the 
magnitude  of  the  interests  which  it  controls  and 
represents,  and  the  fidelity  with  which,  from  its 
birth  down  to  to-day,  the  great  trusts  reposed 
in  it  by  the  people  have  been  discharged,  it 
needs  not  to  vaunt  itself,  but  the  truthful  story 
of  what  it  has  done  is  all  the  eulogy  which  it 
requires. 

This  much,  and  very  hurriedly,  by  way  of 
history.  But  the  figures  showing  the  increase 


30 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


of  its  business  until  its  transactions  have  reached 
their  present  colossal  proportions  are  more  elo¬ 
quent  than  any  mere  language  of  description 
can  possibly  be. 

When  the  Board  was  organized  in  1848  the 
entire  shipments  of  flour  from  this  city  were 
45,200  barrels,  but  in  1884  those  shipments  had 
reached  4,808,884  barrels.  In  1848  there  were 
shipped  from  Chicago  2,160,000  bushels  of 
wheat,  but  in  1884  those  shipments  reached 
the  enormous  aggregate  of  21,046,577.  The 
growth  of  the  Northwest  is  well  exhibited  in 
these  speaking  and  eloquent  statistics.  In 
1848  the  shipments  of  corn  from  Chicago  were 
550,460  bushels;  but  in  1884  they  amounted 
to  53,274,050  bushels.  Within  the  same  period 
of  time  the  shipment  of  oats  has  increased  from 
65,280  bushels  to  34,230,293  bushels. 

Prior  to  the  year  1853  we  possess  no  records 
exhibiting  the  trading  in  pork,  lard,  butter  or 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


31 


wool.  But  the  increase  in  the  actual  transac¬ 
tions  in  these  products  is  something  marvelous. 
In  1853  the  shipments  of  pork  amounted  to 
9,266,318,  and  in  1884  to  549,674,034  pounds. 
Of  lard  in  1853  the  shipments  were  1,847,852 
pounds,  which  had  increased  in  1883  to 
219,617,436.  In  1854  the  shipments  of  butter 
amounted  to  577,388,  and  in  1884  to  90,660,374 
pounds.  The  shipments  of  wool  in  1853 
amounted  to  953,100  pounds,  and  in  1884  to 
53,334,926.  The  receipts  of  live  stock  and  the 
packing  business  since  1864  and  1865  show  an 
increase  equally  great.  In  1864  we  received 
338,840  head  of  cattle,  and  twenty  years  later 
in  1884  the  receipts  had  increased  to  1,817,697. 
Of  live  hogs  there  were  received  in  1865, 
757,072,  and  in  1884  we  received  5,351,967. 
In  1864  there  were  packed  70,086  cattle,  and 
1,182,905  in  1884.  In  the  year  1865  there 
were  packed  760,514  hogs,  and  in  1884  the 


32 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


aggregate  reached  3,911,792.  The  capacity  of 
our  grain  elevators  is  26,175,000  bushels. 

The  actual  values  thus  represented  in  dol¬ 
lars  and  cents,  may  safely  be  said  to  amount  to 
the  enormous  sum  of  #600,000,000  per  year. 
In  part,  these  products  furnish  the  foundations 
upon  which  the  transactions  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  of  the  City  of  Chicago  are  based.  They 
are  real,  if  anything  is  real,  and  are  the  most 
substantial  and  positive  actualities.  These  fig¬ 
ures  demonstrate  that  the  Board  of  Trade  of 
the  City  of  Chicago  does  not  deal  in  fictions, 
for  if  there  should  be  removed  from  the  world’s 
supplies  for  one  year  these  vast  quantities  of 
grain  and  provisions,  want,  and  hunger  and 
famine,  most  positive  and  real,  would  follow, 
which  would  be  no  fictions,  but  realities  of  the 
most  deplorable  and  calamitous  character. 
Nor  are  the  men  who  engaged  in  handling  these 
products  gamblers.  As  colossal  as  the  values 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


I  have  named  are,  they  represent  but-  a  small 
fraction  of  the  entire  volume  of  the  transac¬ 
tions  on  this  Board.  A  thousand  bushels  of 
grain  may  change  hands  twenty  times  every 
day,  but  fortifying  each  transaction  is  the  ware¬ 
house  receipt;  and  a  fictitious  transaction,  or 
one  which  bears  the  slightest  resemblance  to  a 
gambling  one,  is,  within  the  rules  of  the  Board, 
an  utter  impossibility.  I  am  not  speaking  of 
these  facts,  so  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  of  the  city  of  Chicago,  as  distinguish¬ 
ing  it  from  other  associations  of  a  like  charac¬ 
ter  throughout  the  country.  What  I  have  said 
of  this  Board  is  doubtless  true  in  the  main  of 
all  other  associations  of  a  kindred  character. 
That  there  are  speculative  operations  in  grain 
and  provisions  no  one  will  undertake  to  deny, 
but  so  long  as  the  nature  of  man  remains  what 
it  is,  and  what  it  always  has  been,  enterprises 
more  or  less  speculative  will  characterize  the 


34 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


commerce  and  trade  of  the  world.  It  occurred 
many  years  ago  to  Lord  Kenyon,  who  was  a 
great  man  within  a  certain  judicial  range,  that 
he  could  regulate  by  judicial  decision  the  cur¬ 
rents  of  trade.  He  conceived  that  buying 
grain  and  breadstuff's,  and  holding  them  for  a 
rise  for  speculative  purposes,  was  against  pub¬ 
lic  policy,  and  immoral,  and  he  therefore,  as 
Chief  Justice  of  the  King’s  Bench,  adjudged  all 
such  transactions  void.  But  the  King’s  Bench, 
with  all  its  judicial  terrors,  might  as  well  have 
undertaken  to  change  the  course  of  seasons  as 
to  have  checked  enterprises  of  a  speculative 
character  in  breadstuffs,  and  such  a  clamor  was 
raised  about  the  ears  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Ken¬ 
yon,  that  it  was  not  long  before  his  decisions 
were  relegated  to  the  limbo  of  overruled  cases, 
and  are  quoted  to-day,  not  as  authority,  but  as 
demonstrating  how  far  and  how  absurdly  wrong 
even  a  great  Judge  may  possibly  go. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


35 


While  no  rules  can  check,  and  it  would  be 
unwise  to  undertake  to  check  speculative  oper¬ 
ations,  yet  the  declared  objects  of  the  Board 
are  utterly  hostile  to  fictitious  and  gambling 
transactions,  and  to  corners.  The  preamble  of 
its  rules  and  by-laws  expresses  the  general 
objects  of  the  Board  in  this  language: 

“To  maintain  a  commercial  exchange;  to 
promote  uniformity  in  the  customs  and  usages 
of  merchants;  to  inculcate  principles  of  justice 
and  equity  in  trade;  to  facilitate  the  speedy  ad¬ 
justments  of  business  disputes;  to  acquire  and 
disseminate  valuable  commercial  or  economic 
information ;  and  generally  to  secure  to  its 
members  the  benefits  of  co-operation  in  the 
furtherance  of  their  legitimate  pursuits.” 

The  rules  and  by-laws  of  the  Board  are 
hostile  to  all  such  enterprises,  and  to  the  crea¬ 
tion  and  manipulation  of  corners;  and  its  au¬ 
thoritative  action  on  notable  occasions  has  been 


36 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


in  entire  harmony  with  the  general  purposes  as 
expressed  in  its  preamble,  and  in  furtherance 
of  its  rules  and  by-laws.  In  the  year  1874, 
desperate  efforts  were  made  to  control  the  corn 
market,  which  led  to  serious  losses  to  the  trade 
and  to  extended  litigation.  The  transactions 
involved  the  dignity,  and  the  fair  fame  and 
character  of  the  Board.  Charges  were  pre¬ 
ferred  against  members  of  the  Board  for  vio¬ 
lation  of  its  rules,  reciting  that  “the  object  of 
the  association,  as  set  forth  in  the  preamble  to 
its  general  rules,  are  in  danger  of  subversion 
by  the  toleration  among  its  members  of  acts 
contrary  to  the  principles  which  should  govern 
all  commercial  transactions.”  An  investigation 
of  the  efforts  made  to  control  the  corn  market 
and  of  those  engaged  in  these  efforts  was  de¬ 
manded.  The  parties  were  brought  to  trial, 
resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  several  of  the 
accused  by  a  large  and  decisive  vote,  furnish- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


37 


mg  thereby  the  completest  evidence  of  the 
determination  of  the  Board  to  exercise  its  dis¬ 
cretionary  powers,  to  the  end  that  the  highest 
possible  standard  of  commercial  integrity  might 
be  maintained. 

No  association  of  individuals  has  ever 
adapted  itself  to  new  and  indeed  to  novel  situ¬ 
ations  more  rapidly  or  more  intelligently  than 
the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade.  It  has  shown 
itself  equal  to  every  emergency,  and  has  devel¬ 
oped  a  positive  genius  for  legislation.  Under 
the  old  time  methods  of  transporting  grain  in 
bags,  and  its  delivery  at  the  various  railroad 
depots,  or  by  canal  or  water  ways,  a  general 
system  of  inspection  was  well-nigh  impractica¬ 
ble,  and  was  perhaps  unnecessary.  But  the 
tremendous  growth  of  production  made  a 
change  in  the  method  of  handling  grain  indis¬ 
pensable,  and  to  this  point,  years  since,  the 
transportation  of  grain  in  bulk  superseded  the 


38  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

old  method,  and  this  change  in  the  method  of 
transportation  necessitated  a  change  in  the 

method  of  handling  and  storing  :  and  out  of 
this  grew  our  vast  elevator  system.  It  became 
impossible,  therefore,  to  keep  each  shippers 
grain  by  itself,  and  there  grew  up  at  once  a 
necessity  for  fair  and  equitable  inspection — 
such  a  system  as  would  save  the  producer  and 
shipper  harmless,  and  secure  him  absolutely 
against  any  deceits  which  might  be  attempted 
upon  him  by  the  warehouseman.  I  have  al¬ 
ready  had  occasion  to  refer  to  this  system  of 
inspection,  and  the  system  itself,  supplemented 
as  it  now  is  by  State  legislation,  is  one  so  ad¬ 
mirably  adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  designed,  as  to  reflect  the  highest  credit 
upon  its  author  and  upon  this  Board.  This 
system  of  inspection,  and  the  issuance  of  ware¬ 
house  receipts,  practically  revolutionized  the 
character  of  transactions  on  ’Change,  and  made 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


39 


possible  those  colossal  operations  which  have 
carried  the  fame  of  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Trade  all  around  the  globe.  Behind  every 
transaction  on  ’Change  stands  the  warehouse 
receipt,  and  this  warehouse  receipt  is  as  con¬ 
clusive  and  unchallengeable  evidence  as  to 
quantity  and  quality  as  the  mint  stamp  of  the 
government  upon  its  coin,  or  the  silver  certifi¬ 
cate  that  the  exact  amount  of  silver  is  behind 
it  which  it  claims  to  represent. 

One  of  the  declared  objects  of  the  Board,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  to  facilitate  the  speedy  adjust¬ 
ment  of  business  disputes,  and  its  rules,  refer¬ 
ring  controversies  between  its  members  to  the 
Board  itself  for  determination,  and  substituting 
arbitration  in  the  solution  of  business  differ¬ 
ences  for  the  slow  and  tedious  processes  of  lit¬ 
igation  in  the  courts,  have  operated  most  satis¬ 
factorily,  and  resulted  not  only  in  the  saving  of 
expense,  but  in  the  encouragement  of  a  much 


40 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


better  state  of  feeling  between  members  of  the 
Board,  and  the  settlement  of  questions  between 
those  members,  much  more  speedily  than  could 
have  been  achieved  by  the  ordinary  proceed¬ 
ings  in  courts  of  justice. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Board  that 
failures  which  from  time  to  time  occur,  accom¬ 
panied  with  a  fair  and  honest  showing,  are 
speedily  settled  ;  and  it  is  claimed  that  there 
has  been  in  all  its  history  no  instance  of  a  fair 
and  honest  failure  where  the  unfortunate  mem¬ 
ber  has  appealed  in  vain  to  the  good  sense  and 
fairness  of  his  brother  members  for  an  arrange¬ 
ment  of  his  difficulties.  Compared  with  the 
actions  of  the  courts,  settlement  of  great  claims 
which  have  been  made  by  the  Board  itself  illus¬ 
trate  its  business,  fairness  and  sagacity.  With¬ 
in  a  few  years  a  failure  occurred  involving  mil¬ 
lions,  which  would  have  required  years  for  ad¬ 
justment  had  it  been  submitted  to  the  ordinary 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


41 


forms  of  judicial  proceeding,  and  involved 
thousands  of  dollars  of  expense  ;  but  within  a 
period  of  thirty  days  a  complete  settlement 
had  been  reached,  practically  without  expense, 
and  substantially  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all 
the  parties  concerned.  It  would  be  utterly  im¬ 
possible  that  in  the  ordinary  prosecution  of  its 
business  the  vast  contracts  that  are  made  upon 
’Change  should  be  submitted  to  writing  ;  and 
so  it  has  come  to  pass  that  so  high  a  level  of 
personal  honor  has  been  reached,  that  but  a 
motion  of  the  finger,  a  nod  of  the  head,  or  a 
word  is  all  that  is  required  in  a  transaction  in¬ 
volving  possibly  millions  of  dollars,  and  the 
instances  of  a  violation  of  contracts  thus  en¬ 
tered  into  are  so  rare  and  exceptional,  that  it 
would  be  difficult  to  recall  even  one  of  them. 

Whether  entirely  conscious  of  the  fact  or 
not,  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the 
City  of  Chicago  represent  not  only  thems.elves, 


42 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


and  act  not  merely  for  themselves,  but  stand 
between  the  producer  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
consumer  throughout  the  civilized  world  on  the 
other.  There  is  no  great  business  interest  in 
this  city  in  which,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
it  is  not  interested.  Its  members  are  found  at 
the  head  of,  or  intimately  connected  with,  our 
great  banking  institutions  ;  and  the  safety  and 
solidity  of  our  banks  are  universally  recog¬ 
nized.  This  Board,  directly  or  indirectly,  has 
settled  legal  questions  of  the  largest  impor¬ 
tance  to  the  producing  and  financial  interests  of 
the  country.  It  has  demonstrated  the  fact  that 
those  customs  which,  for  the  convenience  of 
business,  merchants  have  established  among 
themselves,  are  stronger  than  any  mere  legal 
technicalities,  and  that  to  those  customs,  when 
among  merchants  they  become  uniform,  uni¬ 
versal  and  well-established,  the  law  must  bend, 
and  if  it  does  not  it  will  break.  Lawyers  have 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


43 


commented  with  great  pride  upon  what  they 
claim  to  be  the  fact,  that  the  great  jurist,  Lord 
Mansfield,  was  the  substantial  author  and 
founder  of  what  is  now  known  as  the  law  mer¬ 
chant.  I  would  not  detract  from  the  encomi¬ 
ums  so  justly  for  generations  passed  upon  Lord 
Mansfield,  for  his  part  in  giving  form  and 
strength  to  that  splendid  body  of  the  law.  But 
it  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  the  law 
merchant  was  not  invented  nor  devised  by 
Lord  Mansfield,  nor  by  any  other  judge  or 
judges,  but  grew  out  of  the  necessities  of  trade 
as  developed  by  actual  experience,  was  a  code 
which  merchants  had  established  for  them¬ 
selves,  and  that  the  part  which  Lord  Mansfield 
played  was  not  that  of  creating  this  code,  but 
was  the  perhaps  equally  wise  part,  for  a  great' 
judge,  of  recognizing  the  existence  of  these 
customs,  and  giving  them,  by  his  adjudications 
upon  the  bench,  the  authoritative  force  of  law. 


44 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


To  the  changed  condition  of  things  growing 
out  of  the  different  methods  of  transporting 
grain,  the  courts  in  this  State,  I  will  not  say 
were  compelled  to  bend,  but  freely  adapted 

themselves.  Not  many  years  since  by  a  com- 

♦ 

bination  between  the  railroads  and  elevators, 
a  great  danger  was  threatened  in  the  monopo¬ 
lizing  of  the  warehouse  business;  and  when  a 
resolute  representative,  and  thoroughly  plucky 
member  of  the  Board,  controlling  an  elevator, 
insisted  that  the  railroad  companies  should 

deliver  grain  to  his  elevator  as  freely,  and  upon 

« 

the  same  terms  and  conditions,  as  they  deliv¬ 
ered  to  others,  he  was  met  by  a  flat  refusal  on 
the  part  of  the  railroad  company;  and  resorting 
to  the  courts,  the  old  rule  that  the  carrier  was 
not  compelled  to  deliver  beyond  the  terminus 
of  its  line  was  appealed  to  as  a  justification. 
But  the  courts  wisely  held  that  the  new  system 
of  transporting  grain  in  bulk  shifted  the  ter- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


45 


minus  from  the  freight  depot  to  the  elevator, 
and  that  every  elevator  connected  with  the 
main  track  was  a  terminus  for  the  grain  con¬ 
signed  to  it,  broke  up  the  threatened  system 
of  monopoly,  and  made  the  business  absolutely 
free.  This  case  was  a  pioneer  one,  and  in¬ 
volved  countless  millions  in  its  consequences. 
In  its  determination,  and  in  the  way  it  was 
determined  every  producer  of  grain  and  cereals 
in  the  Northwest  was  interested.  But  what 
was  the  pioneer  case  but  a  few  years  since  in 
this  State  has  now  become  the  settled  law  of 
the  whole  country,  and  the  old  conflicts  between 
the  members  of  this  Board  and  the  railroad 
companies  and  the  elevators  have  practically 
ceased  to  exist,  for  the  elevators  and  the  rail¬ 
road  companies  now  have  their  memberships 
upon  your  Board,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  all 
interests  are  consulted. 

Beyond  your  mere  daily  transactions  here — 


46 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


far  beyond  them — do  your  duties  extend;  and 
far  beyond  these  transactions  do  your  influences 
reach.  From  the  first  the  interests  which  this 
Board  and  its  members  have  shown  in  all  mat¬ 
ters  of  public  moment  and  consequence,  and 
the  intelligent  activities  which  it  has  exhibited 
in  the  promotion  of  public  interests  upon  a 
large  scale,  have  brought  to  the  Board  of  Trade 
of  the  city  of  Chicago  that  general  confidence 
to  which  we  may  look,  in  part,  at  least,  for  an 
exclamation  of  its  marvelous  growth  and  pros¬ 
perity.  During  its  long  and  honorable  career 
the  efforts  and  influences  and  the  achievements 
of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  this  city  have  not  been 
limited  to  merely  commercial  enterprises.  It 
has  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  been 
the  nucleus  around  which  great  movements 
have  gathered  for  many  public  and  patriotic 
purposes. 

Perceiving  the  necessity  of  an  undivided 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


47 


nationality,  it  spoke  at  the  very  outbreak  of  the 
Rebellion  in  no  uncertain  tones  for  the  preser¬ 
vation  of  the  Union  and  the  honor  of  the  flag. 
It  raised  and  equipped  a  battery  of  artillery, 
the  fame  of  which  adorns  one  of  the  brightest 
pages  of  our  annals,  and  “which  history  will 
never  willingly  let  die.”  It  contributed  to  the 
raising  of  two  regiments,  known  as  the  Board 
of  Trade  Regiments.  It  was  foremost  in  aiding 
the  raising  of  men  to  fill  our  depleted  army. 
It  sustained  with  unflinching  zeal  and  unwaver¬ 
ing  faith  the  financial  honor  and  integrity  of 
the  country.  It  stood  by  the  greenback  and 
the  national  bank  note  in  the  days  of  their 
adversity.  It  is  fitting  and  proper  that  it 
should  be  largely  endowed  with  them  in  the 
days  of  their  honor  and  triumph.  Money  to 
the  cause  of  the  Union  without  stint  it  gave 
when  money  was  required.  Men,  as  I  have 
said,  from  its  own  membership  it  furnished. 


48 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Its  courage  and  hopefulness  never  for  a  moment 
faltered.  This  Board  saw,  with  undimmed  vis¬ 
ion,  the  imperative  necessity  that  the  Mississippi 
should  flow  unvexed  from  St.  Paul  to  the  Gulf, 
and  that  it  should  carry,  without  tolls  and  re¬ 
strictions,  on  its  bosom  if  need  be,  the  com¬ 
merce  of  the  world.  When  the  war  closed, 
with  that  keen  breadth  of  sagacity  which  it  has 
always  exhibited,  it  sought  the  prompt  settle¬ 
ment  of  all  questions  which  grew  out  of  it,  and 
on  a  basis  so  firm  that  these  questions  could 
not  thereafter  be  revived.  It  insisted  upon  a 
Union  restored  not  only  in  name,  but  in  fact, 
and  it  to-day  greets  the  South  and  the  men  of 
the  South  as  friends  in  no  half-way  sense;  as 
friends  in  a  broader  and  better  sense  than  ever 
before;  as  citizens  of  a  common  country, 
sharers  in  a  glorious  destiny  for  the  future.  It 
welcomes  New  Orleans  and  Atlanta,  Savannah 
and  Charleston — every  Southern  city,  and 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


49 


greets  every  Southern  man  as  a  fellow  citizen. 
It  welcomes  and  rejoices  over  its  and  their  pros¬ 
perity,  and  asks  that  in  the  future  peace  may 
be  perpetual  between  every  portion  of  the 
country,  and  that  over  that  common  country 
there  shall  float  but  one  flag,  that  flag  filling 
all  the  sky — a  flag  without  stain  or  blemish  on 
its  ample  fold. 

Its  charities  have  been  as  broad  as  its  patri¬ 
otism  has  been  genuine.  Behind  the  great 
sanitary  commission  it  stood  with  its  helping 
hand,  and  down  the  Mississippi  to  the  Gulf  has 
this  Board  scattered  its  charities  and  its  bene¬ 
factions  in  an  unstinted  measure.  These  char¬ 
ities,  like  its  commercial  operations,  know  no 
limitations  of  State  lines.  There  is  no  geog¬ 
raphy  in  the  generosity  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
of  the  city  of  Chicago.  Wherever  there  is 
suffering  or  want,  it  recognizes  the  boundaries 
of  no  mountains,  rivers,  nor  sea.  It  is  a  pow- 


50 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


er  felt  not  only  in  State  but  in  National  legis¬ 
lation.  It  will  demand  for  the  city  of  Chicago 
and  through  the  city  of  Chicago  for  the  great 
West,  that  the  act  of  Congress  making  this 
city  a  port  of  entry  shall  be  no  dead  letter.  It 
will  demand  and  insist  upon  it  that  the  vexed 
question  of  transportation  by  sea  or  land  be 
settled  in  the  interest  of  the  great  producing 
industries  of  the  country.  It  will  demand  that 
our  animal  industries  be  protected  and  cared 
for  ;  that  our  vast  public  domain  be  preserved 
from  the  rapacious  grasp  of  monopolists  ;  that 
our  currency  be  kept  at  a  standard  so  high  that 
it  pass  unchallenged  everywhere,  and  that  it 
suffer  no  debasement ;  that  the  exportation  of 
our  live-stock  and  our  hog  products  be  pro¬ 
tected  by  National  legislation  ;  and  that,  in¬ 
deed,  all  the  great  interests  shall,  so  far  as  in 
it  lies,  be  made  the  subject  of  its  constant,  ear¬ 
nest  and  intelligent  care.  United  with  other 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


51 


Boards  of  Trade  throughout  the  country,  in  a 
National  organization,  it  conceives  it  to  be  its 
duty  constantly  to  influence,  wisely  and  intelli¬ 
gently,  Congressional  action,  and  will  see  to  it 
that  that  duty  be  religiously  performed.  The 
Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  and  the  city  itself,  of 
which  this  Board  is  so  fitting  a  type  and  repre¬ 
sentative,  stands  between  the  producer  on  our 
great  plains,  and  the  thousands  of  millions  of 
consumers  in  our  own  country  and  across  the 
seas.  Its  great  operators  to-day  reach  by  elec¬ 
tric  currents  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  and 
every  morning  the  Chicago  markets  furnish  the 
cue  for  prices  of  cereals  and  provisions 
throughout  the  world. 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  Board  of  Trade  of 
the  city  of  Chicago  should  be  thoroughly  rep¬ 
resentative  and  cosmopolitan  in  its  character. 
The  architects  of  that  mighty  empire,  which 
within  half  a  century  has  been  reared  in  the 


52 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  far  West,  have 
been  drawn  from  every  portion  of  our  country, 
and,  indeed,  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
The  thrifty  self-reliance  of  New  England,  the 
commercial  breadth  of  New  York,  the  sturdy 
solidity  of  the  old  Key-stone  State,  the  vigor¬ 
ous  and  chivalric  self-respect  of  the  South,  all 
find  their  representatives  on  the  floor  of  this 
exchange. 

Attracted  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thou¬ 
sands  to  these  limitless  and  fruitful  fields,  the 
Englishman,  the  German,  the  Irishman,  the 
Swede  have  made  their  homes  with  us,  and 
merged  their  old  nationalities  with  ours. 

And  hence  in  greeting  to-day  the  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  great  cities  of  our  country 
and  the  Old  World,  we  make  no  new  acquaint¬ 
ances,  but  renew  old  friendships,  and  here 
assert  the  ties  of  kindred  and  common 
ancestry. 


'I 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  53 

As  unconscious  as  the  founders — still  living, 
of  this  city — were  of  the  stupendous  propor¬ 
tions  of  the  work  in  which  they  were  engaged, 
are  the  members  of  this  Board  of  the  influ¬ 
ences  under  which  they  are  acting  every  day. 
Its  commerce  is  so  extended  that  its  fibers  are 
interlaced  with  the  fate  of  kingdoms.  If  you 
take  the  transactions  in  cereals  and  provisions 
on  this  Board  and  run  out  the  lines  to  their  last 
extremity,  you  will  find  they  reach  to  Thread- 
needle  Street,  Paris,  Berlin,  Vienna,  Calcutta, 
to  all  the  farms  in  Great  Britain,  France  and 
Germany;  you  will  find  far-off  Russia  affected 
by  and  responding  to  our  daily  deals  ;  and  as 
they  are  affected,  so  are  you.  Unconsciously 
or  otherwise  you  are  the  agents  and  represent¬ 
atives  of  every  food-consuming  and  money 
center  in  the  world.  This  marks  the  extent  of 
your  power  and  influence.  You  are  the  clear¬ 
ing-house  in  these  great  products  for  civilized 


54 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


mankind  ;  and  the  time  is  not  so  far  distant  as 
you  may  think  when  here  shall  be  exchanged 
the  products  of  the  old,  dreamy  Orient  for  the 
products  of  the  Occident.  Your  mission  is  to 
be  worthy  not  only  of  your  prosperity  to-day, 
but  of  those  colossal  and  resplendent  results 
which  Providence  is  surely  working  out  for  us 
in  the  future.  It  is  not  necessary  to  remind 
you  how  exalted  is  the  character  of  the  real 
merchant.  The  great  master  of  English  prose 
has  said  :  “  There  are  not  more  useful  mem¬ 

bers  in  a  commonwealth  than  merchants. 
They  unite  mankind  together  in  a  mutual  in¬ 
tercourse  of  good  offices,  distribute  the  gifts 
of  nature,  find  work  for  the  poor,  wealth  to 
the  rich,  and  magnificence  to  the  great.” 

There  is  no  greater  civilizer  than  commerce. 
The  wisest  of  modern  thinkers  and  philoso¬ 
phers  has  said: 

“  Commerce  tends  to  wear  off  those  preju- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


55 


dices  which  maintain  distinction  and  animosity 
between  nations.  It  softens  and  polishes  the 
manners  of  men.  It  unites  them  by  one  of  the 
strongest  of  all  ties,  the  desire  of  supplying 
their  mutual  wants.  It  disposes  them  to  peace, 
by  establishing  in  every  State  an  order  of  citi¬ 
zens  bound  by  their  interests  to  be  the 
guardians  of  public  tranquility.  As  soon  as 
the  commercial  spirit  acquires  vigor  and  begins 
to  gain  an  ascendant  in  any  society,  we  discern 
a  new  genius  in  its  policy,  its  alliances,  its 
wars  and  its  negotiations.” 

The  most  superficial  observer  cannot  fail  to 
see  that  as  great  as  has  been  the  merely  mate¬ 
rial  prosperity  which  has  attended  your  history, 
your  glory  will  not  always  be  merely  material, 
nor  will  you  always  be  satisfied  with  a  prosper¬ 
ity  reckoned  by  the  size  of  your  warehouses 
and  the  volume  and  extent  of  your  trade.  A 
broad,  splendid  culture  will  come  by  and  by — 


56  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


it  is  coming.  Out  of  this  vast  commerce  have 
grown  countless  splendid  homes;  it  has  reared 
churches,  it  has  established  schools  and  col¬ 
leges. 

There  is,  I  am  sure,  a  wonderful  chemistry 
at  work  on  the  shores  of  this  great  lake,  and  in 
this  city,  which  will  evolve  from  the  grain  ele¬ 
vator,  from  the  stock  yards,  from  the  pork¬ 
packing  establishments,  splendid  results  in  sci¬ 
ence,  in  arts,  in  literature.  We  have  just  seen 
what  has  never  before  been  witnessed  in  this 
country,  born  almost  in  a  day,  a  magnificent 
festival  devoted  to  music  in  its  highest  form 
and  development,  successful  beyond  the  wild¬ 
est  dreams  of  its  projectors.  The  Board  of 
Trade  of  the  city  of  Chicago  knows  no  rival¬ 
ries  other  than  the  generous  rivalries  of  a  broad 
and  liberal  commerce.  Glad  to  welcome  here 
to-day  the  representatives  from  all  over  the 
country,  from  across  the  seas  and  from  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


57 


neighboring  Dominion  of  Canada,  it  extends 
to  those  representatives,  and  to  the  people  who 
are  behind  them,  greetings  the  heartiest  and 
most  cordial.  For  them  and  others  it  bespeaks 
all  the  prosperity  for  which  they  could  ask, 
knowing  full  well  that  New  York,  Boston,  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans  and  Atlanta, 
Memphis  and  Mobile,  Buffalo  and  Toledo, 
Montreal  and  Quebec,  Liverpool  and  London, 
may  prosper  never  so  much,  their  prosperity  in 
no  sense  detracts  from  the  growth  and  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  Northwest  and  of  the  city  of  Chi¬ 
cago,  but,  as  we  flatter  ourselves,  adds  and 
contributes  to  it.  In  this  feeling,  deeper  than 
I  can  express  it,  broader  than  I  can  describe  it, 
are  these  exercises  this  day  conducted.  To  a 
commerce  inspired  by  such  purposes  is  this 
magnificent  temple  dedicated;  and  so  long  as 
it  shall  endure,  so  long  as  its  walls  shall  stand, 
will  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of  Chicago 


58  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


maintain  for  itself  that  exalted  position  which 
it  has  finally  reached,  and  through  the  centu¬ 
ries  we  trust  be  worthy  of  the  great  future  that 
is  coming  to  us  as  a  people,  and  of  the  honor¬ 
able  achievements  which  illumine  its  past. 
(Tremendous  applause.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE; 


59 


BOSTON. 

THE  HON.  EDWARD  KEMBLE. 

When  Mr.  Storrs  had  concluded  his  admira¬ 
ble  oration,  delivered  under  auspices  than 
which  he  had  perhaps  found  none  more  honor¬ 
able  and  distinguished,  and  the  subsequent 
applause  had  ceased,  there  ensued  a  slight 
intermission  filled  in  by  the  performance  of  a 
selection  by  the  orchestra  and  the  departure  of 
those  constrained  to  leave  the  hall  at  that  hour. 
Calling  the  assembly  again  to  order  President 
Blake  said: 

Gentlemen  of  the  (Board: — It  will  be  utterly 
impossible  for  us  to  invite  all  of  the  visiting 
delegations  to  give  us  their  greetings  to-day, 
and  I  find  it  very  hard  work  to  select  the  rep¬ 
resentatives  out  of  so  many  excellent  ones. 


6o 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

p 

- - — - r 

‘i 

We  can  only  take  sections,  and  not  individual 

i 

boards.  And  now,  surely,  the  New  England 
representative  ought  to  be  able  to  bring  us 
greeting  in  this  hall,  in  this  temple,  built  from 
the  grahite  from  her  old  stern  rock-bound 
coast;  and  while  they  have  given  us  a  stone 
you  can  rest  assured  and  they  can  rest  assured 
we  will  give  them  bread.  (Applause.)  I  have 
the  great  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you  now 
the  Hon.  Edward  Kemble,  of  Boston.  There 
are  three  bodies  from  Boston  represented  here; 
he  must,  of  course,  speak  for  them  all. 

Mr.  Kemble,  in  response  to  the  invitation, 
arose  and  spoke  as  follows: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Chi¬ 
cago  (hoard  of  Trade: — In  rising,  which  I  do 
with  great  diffidence,  in  response  to  that  call 
with  which  I  have  been  honored,  I  desire  first 
to  present  to  you  the  acknowledgements  of  the 
Bostjbn  Commercial  Exchange  for  the  courtesies 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  6 1 

extended  to  it  to-day.  I  am  requested  to  pre¬ 
sent  also  the  acknowledgements  of  the  Boston 
Produce  Exchange  and  the  Boston  Board  of 
Trade  for  similar  courtesies,  and  I  further  ten¬ 
der  to  you  the  congratulations  of  the  three  ex¬ 
changes  upon  the  completion  and  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  this  grand  structure  to-day  dedicated  to 
trade.  It  is  at  once  not  only  a  comfort  and  con¬ 
venience  and  an  honor,  but  it  is  also  a  neces¬ 
sity  of  your  Board  and  an  enduring  monument 
of  your  great  prosperity.  In  attempting  to  say 
a  word  here,  I  am  embarrassed  before  this 
large  assemblage,  I  am  embarrassed  with  its 
distinguished  character  and  with  the  magnitude 
of  the  occasion,  and  I  might  well  hesitate  and 
keep  silent,  but  I  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
Boston  Commercial  Exchange,  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  represent  in  part  here,  has  a  pecu¬ 
liar  honor  on  this  occasion,  and  I  myself  feel 
somewhat  reassured  when  I  see  in  the  chair 


62 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


of  your  presiding  officer  and  in  the  chair  of 
your  Secretary,  gentlemen  who  were  formerly 
members  of  the  Exchange  in  Boston.  They 
were  prominent  there  and  we  find  them  prom¬ 
inent  here,  and,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned, 
to  me  the  aspect  is  quite  homelike.  But,  sir,  I 
will  not  dwell  too  long  at  this  period  of  your 
exercises.  I  shall,  however,  and  I  deem  it  not 
improper,  as  this  is  an  occasion  of  congratula¬ 
tion,  extend  to  this  Board  and  to  your  officers, 
our  congratulations  also  upon  their  elevation  to 
positions  of  so  much  dignity  and  responsibility. 
I  see  too,  here,  the  faces  of  gentlemen  with 
whom  some  of  us  have  been  long  connected — 
with  whom  some  of  us  in  Boston  have  been 
long  connected  in  social  or  business  relations, 
and,  as  your  President  has  remarked,  the  very 
granite  itself,  which  enters  so  largely  into  the 
composition  of  this  edifice,  has  been  trans¬ 
ported  from  the  rocky  shores  of  New  England, 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


63 


and  over  a  line  of  railway  of  which  our  own 
Hoosac  Tunnel  forms  a  part.  So  that  we  who 
are  here  from  Boston,  or  we  from  New  England, 
cannot  feel  as  strangers  here  to-day.  Mr. 
President,  we  in  Boston  watch  from  day  to  day 
the  course  of  your  markets,  and  wonder  at  the 
growth  of  your  business,  and  we  would  gladly 
participate  with  you,  if  such  a  thing  were  pos¬ 
sible,  in  the  grand  march  in  which  you  are 
leading  all  the  exchanges  of  the  country;  but 
we  do  join  with  you;  we  can  and  we  do  join 
with  you  in  thoughts  and  aspirations,  and  in 
your  action,  so  far  as  we  can — so  far  as  that  is 
possible,  in  pushing  forward,  with  rapid  strides, 
the  grand  developments  of  modern  business. 
(Applause.) 


64 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


LIVERPOOL. 

STAMFORD  WHITE. 

President  Blake  next  spoke  as  follows,  and 
loud  was  the  applause  following  the  announce¬ 
ment  of  the  speakers  name  and  country: 

Our  country  can  never  forget  that  among 
our  best  customers  is  her  mother  land,  Great 
Britain;  (Applause.)  small  in  territory,  but 
large  in  all  that  goes  to  make  up  national 
greatness;  and  we  welcome  to-day  a  delegate 

representing  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Stamford 
White. 

Mr.  White  said: 

Mr.  ' President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Chicago 
Poard  of  Trade: — It  is  with  pleasure  that  we 
present  to  you  the  congratulations  of  the  Liv¬ 
erpool  Association  upon  the  completion  of  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


65 


magnificent  temple  of  commerce,  the  opening 
of  which  marks  a  new  era  in  the  remarkable 
growth  of  this  great  city.  Rejoicing  in  it  as 
an  evidence  of  the  success  which  has  attended 
the  enterprise  and  the  industry  of  your  people, 
we  express  the  hope  that  a  still  larger  share  of 
prosperity  shall  crown  your  efforts  in  the  fut¬ 
ure.  As  an  index  also  of  the  growing  pros¬ 
perity  of  this  great  West,  fertile  in  the  produc¬ 
tion  of  the  staples  necessary  to  life,  this  event 
becomes  a  matter  not  merely  of  local  or  even 
national,  but  also  of  international  interests. 
Electricity  and  steam  annihilating  distance, 
have  brought  our  countries  practically  close 
together,  and  our  interests  have  become  so 
nearly  identical  that  whatsoever  affects  the  well¬ 
being  of  one  is  of  the  liveliest  interest  to  the 
other.  A  prosperous  season  in  this  Northwest 
means  a  season  of  satisfactory  employment  for 
our  great  transatlantic  shipping  interest,  and 


66 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


an  ample  supply  of  cheap  food  for  our  people. 
A  favorable  season  in  the  South  means  a  large 
movement  in  cotton,  bringing  activity  to  all  our 
manufacturing  centers.  Prosperity  in  Great 
Britain  means  large  purchasing  power  for  the 
surplus  products  of  this  great  country.  How 
great  our  commerce  has  grown  and  how  closely 
our  interests  have  become  allied,  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  in  maintaining  the 
traffic  between  Liverpool  and  the  North  Amer¬ 
ican  Atlantic  ports,  there  are  constantly  en¬ 
gaged  upward  of  300,000  tons  of  high  class 
steam  shipping;  and  this,  not  to  mention  the 
smaller  vessels  and  the  craft  which  carry  the 
product  of  the  Southern  fields  to  the  great  cot¬ 
ton  markets  of  the  world. 

Mr.  -  (President: — The  sentiment  which  you 
have  just  expressed,  and  which  has  been  so 
warmly  received  by  this  vast  and  representative 
assembly,  is  one  which  cannot  but  produce  a 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


67 


responsive  feeling  in  the  heart  of  every  British 
subject.  (Applause.)  It  is  impossible  to  con¬ 
ceive  that  circumstances  could  ever  arise  which 
should  cause  a  severance  of  the  ties  which 
bind  two  such  nations  so  closely  together,  but 
rather  as  they  are  one  in  race,  one  in  tongue, 
one  in  interest,  they  will  ever  work  closely  and 
cordially  together,  and  with  their  commerce  ex¬ 
tending  in  an  ever  increasing  flood  over  every 
sea  and  into  every  clime,  it  is  a  proud  destiny 
to  wield  a  powerful  influence  toward  the  civili¬ 
zation  and  the  material  and  moral  advancement 
of  every  people  throughout  the  world.  (Ap¬ 
plause.) 


68 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


SAN  FRANCISCO. 

CHARLES  B.  STONE. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  next  speaker 
as  follows: 

“The  wonderland  of  our  country  is  our 
Pacific  Coast;  its  mountains,  its  valleys,  its 
mines,  its  trees,  its  fruits  and  its  flowers  are 
peerless.  To-day  this  Board  of  Trade  of  the 
city  of  Chicago  is  ready  to  do  honor  to  the 
representative  of  that  wonderland,  who  has 
crossed  the  continent  to  join  with  us  in  this 
celebration.  I  have  the  honor  of  introducing 
to  you  Mr.  Charles  B.  Stone,  of  San  Fran¬ 
cisco.” 

Mr.  Stone  spoke  as  follows: 

Mr.  (President: — You  say  our  country  is  a 
wonderland.  Yes,  we  in  California  believe,  and 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


69 


say,  that  everything-  of  our  own  is  the  greatest 
in  the  world;  but  at  this  time  we  are  so  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  magnitude  of  your  city  and  its 
business,  with  the  magnificence  of  this  building 
and  this  beautiful  hall;  we  are  so  overcome 
by  the  hospitalities  which  the  members  of  your 
Board  have  extended  to  us  by  your  reception 
committee,  that  for  a  moment  we  forgot  the 
wonders  of  our  mountains  and  our  valleys;  we 
forgot  the  circumference  of  our  trees;  we  forgot 
even  the  fragrance  of  our  fruits  and  the  fra¬ 
grance  of  our  flowers.  We  are  so  impressed 
by  all  this  magnificence  that  we  cannot  enthuse 
even  upon  what  with  us  is  a  common  thing, 
our  glorious  climate.  Perhaps  all  this  will  re¬ 
turn  to  us  as  we  return  Westward.  On  behalf 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  delegation  I  will  simply 
thank  you  for  your  courtesies  and  invite  you 
all  to  visit  us  and  view  for  yourselves  our  won¬ 
derland.  (Applause.) 


70 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


NEW  YORK. 

J.  H.  HERRICK. 

President  Blake  next  introduced  the  Presi¬ 
dent  of  the  New  York  Produce  Exchange, 
saying,  “  Gentlemen  of  the  Board,  I  now  have 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you  one  of  our 
sisters  from  the  Atlantic  Coast,  our  financial 
metropolis,  our  great  seaboard  city.  She  is  too 
great  to  be  envious;  she  is  too  generous  to 
be  jealous.  Permit  me  to  present  to  you  the 
President  of  the  New  York  Produce  Exchange, 
Mr.  H  errick.”  (Applause.) 

Mr.  Herrick  responded: 

The  great  seaboard  city  of  the  East  to-day 
greets  the  metropolitan  city  of  the  Lakes,  ever 
ready  to  congratulate  her  in  her  day  of  triumph, 
or  to  sympathize  with  her  in  her  hour  of  trial. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


7  1 


Bound  together  as  these  cities  are  by  the 
closest  ties  of  kinship  of  commerce,  of  amity 
and  of  mutual  dependence,  both  alike  share  the 
benefits  accruing  from  the  success  achieved  by 
either. 

To  the  efforts  of  the  merchants  of  these 
great  cities  is  especially  due  their  surprising 
growth  in  population  and  power;  to  the  enter¬ 
prise  and  sagacity  of  this  same  class  may  be 
attributed  the  vast  and  rapid  accumulation  of 
wealth  and  luxury  with  which  we  are  sur¬ 
rounded.  This  magnificent  commercial  temple 
which  you  have  to-day  gathered  together  to 
dedicate,  is  the  fitting  superstructure,  whose 
foundations  were  laid  when  the  present  gener¬ 
ation  was  in  its  infancy,  the  completion  of 
which  both  illustrates  and  emphasizes  the  im¬ 
perishable  nature  of  the  principles  upon  which 
your  prosperity  is  based — commercial  and 
national  honor. 


7  2 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


It  is  not  beyond  the  memory  of  many  men 
now  living-  when  the  children  of  the  East  took 
up  their  journeyings  toward  the  setting  sun; 
the  parent  stock  was  sound  and  the  travelers 
bore  with  them  those  vigorous  seeds  of  success¬ 
ful  enterprise,  self-denial,  sagacity  and  perse¬ 
verance  which  implanted  in  the  rich  virgin  soil 
of  the  West  what  produced  so  marvelous  a 
harvest. 

The  agriculturist  and  the  merchant — his 
representative — in  the  history  of  the  world  have 
been  the  only  real  and  permanent  conquerors 
of  nature.  The  real  wealth  of  a  nation  is  that 
which  is  won  from  the  soil  by  the  labor  of  the 
agricultural  classes.  Such  wealth,  apart  from 
the  distribution  which  your  organization  and 
others  like  it  are  able  to  effect,  would  be  almost 
as  useless  to  the  country  at  large  as  is  the  gold 
lying  in  scattered  grains  among  the  sands  of 
our  river  beds,  or  the  nuggets  enclosed  in  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


73 


quartz  of  our  auriferous  rocks.  Wealth  is  only 
truly  wealth  when  it  is  in  circulation.  The 
markets,  your  far-seeing  commercial  instincts 
have  discovered,  form  the  incentive  for  the  full 
development  of  the  soil;  consumption  and  pro¬ 
duction  mutually  interacting  and  stimulating 
each  other,  draw  as  with  a  magnet  the  surplus 
population  of  the  Old  World.  When  this 
country  is  old  enough  to  have  its  philosophical 
history  written,  to  the  mercantile  class  will  be 
ascribed  the  highest  influence,  to  it  will  be 
awarded  the  greatest  honor  for  its  development. 
In  the  first  rank  of  this  royal  class  will  be  found 
the  merchants  of  Chicago. 

The  unequaled  means  of  transportation 
which  the  country  now  enjoys  has  been  stimu¬ 
lated,  yea,  almost  brought  into  being  by  the 
demands  of  the  commerce  you  have  created 
and  faithfully  fostered.  You  first  covered  these 
great  lakes  with  the  white  winged  messengers 


74 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


of  domestic  commerce.  Your  enterprise,  seek¬ 
ing  still  greater  facilities  in  all  directions,  has 

bound  the  country  together  by  a  vast  net  work 
of  iron  highways. 

Cultivating  so  assiduously  physical  and 
material  prosperity,  there  was  still  room  for 
the  growth  of  patriotism.  Whenever  men  or 
money  or  supplies  were  needed  to  preserve 
the  national  life,  Chicago  was  foremost  among 
her  sister  cities  to  respond  with  spontaneous 
enthusiasm.  More  than  twenty  years  ago  it 
was  said  the  Northwest  will  never  permit  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  to  be  held  by  a 
foreign  power,  and  you  know  well  this  deter¬ 
mination  was  carried  out. 

Who  appreciated  more  clearly  than  the  men 
of  the  Northwest  the  capabilities  of  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  extending  through  so  many 
parallel  latitudes  with  a  soil  of  unexampled 
fertility,  a  diversity  of  climate  which  encour- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


75 


ages  the  greatest  variety  of  products,  and 
which  will  hereafter  teem  with  a  population 
superior  to  any  the  world  has  ever  seen,  in  the 
ability  to  utilize  the  bounteous  gifts  of  nature  ? 

Commercial  centers  are  intellectual  centers, 
crystalizing  the  ideas  which  give  shape  and 
color  to  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of  the 
surrounding  country.  Chicago  then  occupied 
the  proud  position,  and  we  cannot  hope  to 
measure  the  debt  we  owe  to  her  patriotism 
and  energy  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
which  combined  the  inherent  right  of  self- 
government  with  the  priceless  gift  of  personal 
liberty,  as  Castilear  well  said  :  “A  nation  over 
which  humanity  will  eternally  shed  its  blessing, 
and  God  his  benediction.” 

This  grand  temple  then,  which  you  dedicate 
to-day,  is  but  the  first  fruitage  from  the  tree  of 
your  great  prosperity.  Within  these  walls  will 
be  found  the  seed  that  shall  cause  the  desolate 


76 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


regions  of  our  common  country  to  blossom  as 
the  rose. 

Manufactures  are  the  offspring  of  your 
genius,  and  what  are  called  the  professional 
classes  are  the  fruit  of  your  lawings  and  still 
draw  their  life  from  the  sources  from  which 
they  sprang.  We  are  learning  the  as  yet  un¬ 
fathomed  power  of  concentration  and  central¬ 
ization.  The  splendid  exchanges  which  are 
springing  up  in  our  great  commercial  centers 
are  the  outward  signs  of  the  growing  power  of 
the  merchants  of  this  country  in  combination. 
I  look  forward,  Mr.  President,  to  the  time 
when  a  larger  number  of  merchants  shall  be 
found  in  legislative  halls,  giving  practical  shape 
to  what  is  now  too  often  rather  theoretical  and 
visionary  than  the  practical  legislation  we  need. 
If  this  country  is  peacefully  to  develop  a  pop¬ 
ulation  of  300,000,000,  it  will  be  because  our 
statesmen  draw  largely  from  the  wisdom  and 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


77 


practical  talents  of  our  merchants  in  shaping 
the  destiny  of  this  mighty  empire. 

As  the  sunlight  of  every  morning  gilds  yon 
spire  with  the  light  and  beauty  of  the  opening 
day  of  your  success,  so  may  the  brilliant  and 
gorgeous  colors  of  its  setting  glory  symbolize 
your  constant  prosperity  for  ever  and  ever. 


78 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


MONTREAL. 

HUGH  M’CLENNAN. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  next  speaker 
as  follows:  “Among-  our  honored  guests  are 
our  Canadian  cousins,  and  they  are  welcome 
in  this  land,  explored  by  their  La  Salle,  Joliet 
and  Hennepin.  I  have  the  pleasure  now  of 
introducing  to  you  Mr.  Hugh  McClennan,  of 
Montreal/’  (Applause.) 

Mr.  McClennan  responded  as  follows  : 

Mr.  President  and  Members  of  the  (Board  of 
Trade  of  Chicago:  Many  of  you  are  old 
friends  that  I  am  glad  to  see  here  to-day.  My 
friends,  who  have  accompanied  me  upon  this 
delegation,  have  remitted  to  me  the  duty  of 
extending  the  congratulations  of  Montreal  and 
Canada  upon  this  auspicious  occasion.  Can- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


79 


ada,  as  has  been  stated  in  the  introduction  to 
my  appearing  before  you,  feels  that  the  threads 
of  its  influence  have  been  woven  into  the  his¬ 
tory  of  this  country  and  of  Chicago  from  its 
very  inception. 

Upon  that  memorable  occasion  in  October, 
1871,  I  stood  here  with  a  citizen  of  Chicago 
— then  representing  Montreal,  as  I  have  the 
honor  of  doing  upon  this  occasion  in  company 
with  others — amid  the  desolated  ruins  of  this 
city ;  and  he  stated  that  he  had  seen  the 
ground  upon  which  we  stood  the  undisturbed 
home  of  the  prairie  wolf  ;  that  he  had  seen  the 
city  of  his  pride  grow  up  upon  it ;  that  after 
that  time  it  had  become  a  desolation  by  fire, 
but  that  he  hoped  that  he  might  see  this  city 
again  rebuilt  in  its  former  greatness.  I  am 
free  to  say  that  I  felt  at  the  moment  that,  while 
the  city  of  Chicago  might  be  rebuilt,  there 
were  very  many  who  would  not  see  the  accom- 


So 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


plishment  of  that  fact.  I  am  proud  to  see 
that  my  friend  is  still  living  and  has  seen  the 
city  rebuilt  and  its  glory  culminate  in  this 
building  in  which  we  stand  to-day — Mr.  Gur- 
don  S.  Hubbard  ;  and  although  we  cannot 
claim  him  as  a  Canadian,  it  was  in  Montreal 
that  during  his  three  years’  residence  there,  I 
have  no  doubt  he  acquired  his  love  of  the 
Western  frontier  life  and  found  his  way  to  the 
city  of  Chicago. 

When  this  State  took  upon  itself  to  pay 
#5,000,000  of  money  to  construct  a  waterway  to 

let  out  its  products — an  enormous  sum  of  money 
at  that  time,  and,  by  the  way,  it  is  a  debt  that 
won’t  stay  paid,  but  keeps  constantly  coming 
up  again — the  Canadians  followed  in  the  wake 
of  the  industry  that  was  then  initiated,  and  two 
of  the  men  interested  in  that  have  become  in¬ 
terested  in  the  future  growth  of  this  city. 
Thus  Canada  has  held  its  connection  with  this 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  8 1 

great  metropolis.  When  the  first  waterways 
to  the  upper  lakes  were  completed  there  was 
some  difficulty  in  regard  to  the  passage  of  the 
first  vessels  that  came  here  from  Canada,  but 
that  was  adjusted  by  the  consideration  of  the 
Government  at  Washington,  and  subsequently 
our  Canadian  trade  became  of  great  importance 
in  the  history  of  the  growth  and  development 
of  Chicago.  I  will  say  one  word,  Mr.  Presi¬ 
dent,  in  reference  to  this  building  which  you 
have  dedicated  here  to-day,  and  which  should 
not  be  overlooked.  This  building-  indicates 
not  only  the  growth  and  the  wealth  of  this  city, 
but  it  indicates  the  development  of  this  country, 
and  I  think  that  more  than  all,  it  indicates  the 
conditions  which  have  produced  the  prosperity 
which  we  see  here  before  our  eyes.  I  attribute 
it  to  the  merchants  who  are  engaged  in  trade 
in  the  city  of  Chicago.  I  attribute  it  very 
largely  to  the  fact  that  when  a  man  bought  a 


82 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


lot  in  Chicago  he  got  what  he  paid  for;  when 
he  bought  corn  he  got  that  which  the  first 
summer  season  didn’t  cause  to  heat  ;  if  he 
bought  wheat,  he  bought  that  which  was  not 
in  danger  of  being  posted  ;  if  he  bought  butter, 
it  was  cow’s  butter,  and  it  was  hog’s  lard  that 
he  got  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  he  gets  them 
yet;  and  I  will  say  beyond  that  that  its  system 
of  inspection  is  better  than  that  of  any  other 
place  in  the  world  that  I  know  of.  There  is 
another  feature  which  has  been  referred  to 
about  which  I  would  like  to  say  a  word,  and  it 
is  this:  That  in  all  the  transactions  of  this 
Board  the  litigation  that  has  grown  out  of 
them  has  been  so  very  rare  as  to  form  an  ex¬ 
ception,  for  in  an  experience  of  thirty  years  I 
do  not  know  of  a  single  transaction  that  has 
ever  been  referred  to  a  court  of  justice.  These 
are  the  elements  that  tend  to  the  success  of 
your  merchants.  These  are  the  elements 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


83 


which  make  wealth  valuable,  and  on  which  I 
congratulate  the  city  of  Chicago  to-day. 
Coming  as  I  do  from  a  country  that  is  not  so 
closely  identified  with  this,  excepting  in  its 
trade  relations,  you  will  allow  me  a  moment  to 
refer  you  to  the  relations  of  Canada,  and  of 
England  likewise,  to  this  country.  The  assump¬ 
tion  that  all  new  countries  necessarily  have 
growth  and  prosperity  in  them  ;  the  assump¬ 
tion  that  England  has  passed  her  greatest  day, 

and  that  her  energy  and  vigor  are  gone,  and 
that  necessarily  it  must  fall  upon  other 
shoulders,  I  think  is  a  mistake.  I  think  it  is  a 
mistake  to  assume  the  position  that  progress 
of  any  description  must  have  its  counterpart  in 
the  decay  of  any  other  nation.  Chicago  to-day 
is  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  position  she 
occupies  in  trade  as  compared  with  that  which 
she  occupied  thirty  years  ago,  and  the  men 
who  were  engaged  in  the  wheat  and  provision 


84 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


trade  at  that  time  attended  to  the  details  of 
work  that  involves  much  personal  effort. 
Would  we  say  to-day  that  there  was  decadence 
in  Chicago  because  her  merchant  princes  live 
in  palaces,  and  because  they  are  in  communi¬ 
cation  with  all  the  people  of  the  earth,  and  the 
children  of  Europe  are  learning  their  alphabet 
from  the  letters  on  the  boxes  and  packages 
which  come  over  from  the  city  of  Chicago, 
would  we  be  justified  in  saying  that  there  was 
decadence  in  the  city  of  Chicago?  It  would 
be  an  unfortunate  day,  not  only  for  Great 
Britain,  but  for  this  country,  if  Great  Britain 
should  degenerate  in  any  degree;  and  it  would 
be  unfortunate  for  this  country  if  Great  Britain 
should  pass  through  a  condition  of  decadence. 
The  destinies  of  the  two  countries  are  united, 
and  it  is  apparent  that  the  English  speaking 
people  of  the  world  are  to  carry  forward  the 
conditions  of  trade,  and  to  carry  with  them  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


85 


moral  conditions  and  the  religious  conditions 
that  make  a  people  great  and  prosperous.  It 
is  as  sure  as  that  there  is  a  Divine  government, 
that  we  must  carry  those  conditions  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth,  and  that  upon  a  union  of  the 
English  speaking  people  will  rest  this  great 
responsibility,  and  that  while  we  know  not 
what  particular  form  it  may  assume  to  consoli¬ 
date  these  interests  and  to  make  the  people 
one  in  sympathy  and  in  effort,  that  day  is 
surely  coming,  and  I  believe  that  many  of  us 
will  see  it.  There  is  no  question  that  in  the 
past  there  have  been  lines  of  National  distinc¬ 
tion,  but  as  we  have  outgrown  the  old  building 
with  its  narrower  walls  and  darker  appearance, 
as  we  left  it  yesterday  and  came  into  this 
brighter  and  clearer  light  here,  so  the  English 
speaking  people  of  the  world  are  making  their 
progress  an  aid  in  carrying  out  the  destiny  to 
which  they  are  called.  I  therefore  congratu- 


86 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


late  you  again  in  the  name  of  Canada,  and  I 
rejoice  to  be  present  upon  this  auspicious 
occasion.  (Applause.) 


ST.  LOUIS. 

THE  HON.  E.  O.  STANNARD. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  orator  from 
St.  Louis  as  follows: 

“In  order  that  you  may  not  get  too  weary  I 
wish  to  state  that  we  are  reserving — with  all 
due  respect  to  those  who  have  gone  before — 
the  best  for  the  last.  Situated  in  the  heart  of 
the  Nation,  in  the  rich  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
is  one  of  our  elder  sisters,  a  little  haughty  and 
proud  in  consequence  of  her  age  and  position; 
still  you  will  unite  with  me  to-day  in  kissing 
her  hand  in  token  of  our  pleasure  at  her  pres¬ 
ence  with  us.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  intro¬ 
ducing  Gov.  Stannard.” 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


87 


Gov.  Stannard  spoke  as  follows: 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  (Board 
of  Trade  of  Chicago : — Y esterday  evening,  after 
I  was  informed  that  I  was  the  St.  Louis  victim 
and  was  to  speak  upon  this  occasion,  I 
wandered  around  the  streets  for  about  an  hour, 
feeling  very  desolate,  and  thinking  what  I  could 
say  for  Chicago,  for  St.  Louis  and  for  this 
great  country  of  ours,  and  after  I  retired  I 
staid  awake  about  an  hour  trying  to  formulate 
something  in  my  mind  that  I  thought  would  be 
proper  to  say  on  an  occasion  like  this.  Since 
I  have  been  on  the  platform  I  have  made  up 
my  mind  that  that  speech  ought  to  be  reserved 
for  some  other  occasion  (laughter  and  applause) 
and  that  what  I  say  ought  to  be  inspired  from 
the  grand  speeches  which  have  been  made  and 
the  noble  sentiments  which  have  gone  forth 
from  this  platform. 

St.  Louis  is  exceedingly  rejoiced  to  have  had 


88 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


the  privilege  of  being  here.  St.  Louis  is  proud 
of  her  own  position,  of  her  prospects  for  the 
future,  but  she  no  less  rejoices  at  the  success 
and  prosperity  which  has  come  to  the  people 
of  Chicago.  (Applause.)  We  are  not  here, 
of  course,  to  bow  a  humble  knee  at  the  feet 
of  Chicago  (laughter)  and  you  do  not  expect  us 
to  do  this.  You  are  too  grand  and  generous  a 
people  for  anything  of  this  kind.  But  we  are 
here  with  our  hands,  and  with  the  hands  of  the 
people  of  this  great  country  to  join  in  the 
coronation  here  to-day,  which  Chicago,  as  the 
queen  of  the  lakes,  will  so  proudly  and  gener¬ 
ously  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  merchants 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from  the 
British  possessions  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
(Applause.) 

Something  has  been  said  of  the  history  of 
the  city  of  Chicago  and  of  the  great  North¬ 
west  here  to-day.  I  thought  while  sitting  here 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


89 


that  I  was  a  pioneer  of  this  Western  country, 
although  not  as  great  as  some  of  the  venerable 
and  honorable  merchants  whom  I  see  all 
around  me.  A  history  which  I  cannot  question, 
because  in  early  life  I  was  admonished  not  to 
question,  says  to  me  that  in  1836,  before  I  can 
remember,  that  my  father  and  grandfather 
hitched  up  their  wagons  in  New  England  and 
started  for  what  now  is  the  great  State  of  Iowa, 
before  it  had  a  territorial  organization,  and 
when  this  great  country  off  here  was  the  North¬ 
western  Territory  undivided.  That  is  less  than 
half  a  century  ago.  We  passed  along  in  our 
wagon  within  fifty  miles  of  Chicago.  We  took 
thirteen  weeks  to  make  the  trip  from  New 
England  to  Iowa,  swimming  streams,  camping 
at  night,  running  across  the  country  with  a 
compass.  This,  gentlemen,  was  less  than  fifty 
years  ago.  I  believe — this  was  your  thought, 
my  friend — I  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the 


9° 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


soul.  My  longings  reach  out  for  the  future, 
after  we  are  through  with  these  things,  and  I, 
too,  wish,  seeing  what  has  been  accomplished 
in  fifty  years,  that  fifty  years  from  now  I  could 
look  out  of  the  battlements  of  Heaven  over 
this  country,  and  see  then  what  shall  be. 
Trade  organizations  are  of  ancient  origin.  We 
are  told  by  the  historians  that  in  the  chief 
quarters  of  Babylon,  places  were  set  apart  for 
men  to  trade  in  corn  and  wheat  and  barley, 
etc.;  that  in  ancient  Athens  men  went  to  con¬ 
venient  places  and  met,  buyers  and  sellers 
together,  and  bought  and  sold.  The  oldest 
trade  organization  that  I  know  anything  about, 
or  have  read  of,  was  in  London  during  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  I  think  in  1 566.  It 
was  a  genuine  trade  organization.  A  century 
or  so  after  that,  we  are  told  that  the  Royal  Ex¬ 
change  of  London,  under  the  patronage  and 
through  the  enterprise  of  Sir  Thomas  Gresh- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


91 


am.  was  erected,  and  of  course  that  exchange 
has  a  world-wide  reputation.  Other  exchanges 
alonof  were  organized,  but  of  course  I  cannot 
wait  to  speak  of  them.  The  hrst  exchange  in 
the  United  States  was  organized  in  the  citv  of 
Xew  York  in  1 768.  About  two  or  three  years 
later  it  received  a  charter  from  the  Crown  of 
England.  A  few  vears  later  Boston  Boards  of 
Trade  were  organized,  and  in  Baltimore,  and 
in  Philadelphia,  and  I  notice  that  we  in  St. 
Louis,  long  before  my  time,  in  1S42.  organized 
a  Chamber  of  Commerce  for  the  city  of  St. 
Louis  These  trade  organizations  of  course 
are  ancient  in  their  history,  but  are  exceed¬ 
ing!  v  familiar  to  ah  of  us.  because  most  of  us 
have  been  members  of  boards  of  trade  or 

chambers  of  commerce  for  manv  vears.  I 

*  * 

myself  was  a  member  of  your  old  Board  of 
Trade  in  1S61.  down  here  on  the  river  some¬ 
where.  and  of  course  I  have  been  observing 


92 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


carefully  the  progress  of  the  city  of  Chicago, 
having  had  some  interest  at  some  times  during 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  in  your  city.  I 
have  always  been  proud  of  your  merchants, 
proud  of  their  enterprise,  proud  of  the  progress 
that  you  have  made  here,  and  I  am  proud  of 
the  fact  that  I,  with  you,  live  in  an  age  and  in  a 
country  where  such  progress  as  we  see  around 
about  us  and  such  grandeur  is  too  possible. 

It  is  said  sometimes  that  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  rivalry  between  the  city  of  St.  Louis 
and  the  city  of  Chicago.  We  are  about 
300  miles  apart.  In  this  great  country  of 
ours  there  should  be  a  rivalry  in  commerce 
as  in  everything  else.  I  believe  that  rivalry  is 
healthful;  and  St.  Louis  men  wish  you  God¬ 
speed,  I  am  sure,  from  the  fullness  of  their 
hearts,  and  they  must  surely  congratulate  you 
upon  the  success  which  is  apparent  around  you 
everywhere.  With  these  remarks  I  will  detain 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


93 


you  no  longer,  but  thank  you  for  your  attention 
and  for  the  opportunity  which  we  have  had  of 
being  here.  (Applause.) 


MINNEAPOLIS. 

THE  HON.  G.  A.  PILLSBURY. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  representa¬ 
tive  of  Minneapolis  as  follows:  “In  the  great 
Northwest  there  is  a  land  of  the  Dakotas  made 
memorable  in  song,  and  yet  Poet  Longfellow’s 
wildest  dream  is  more  than  realized.  Hia¬ 
watha’s  hut  has  disappeared  and  given  place 
to  palace  homes  and  to  mammoth  mills.  Hia¬ 
watha’s  hunting-grounds  have  become  smiling 
farms,  abundant  in  ‘No.  i  hard.’  I  present  to 
you  the  Hon.  G.  A.  Pillsbury,  of  Minneapolis.” 
(Applause.) 


94 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Mr.  Pillsbury  responded  as  follows: 

Jvlr.  (President  and  Gentlemen: — I  can  sympa¬ 
thize  somewhat  with  Gov.  Stannard  in  the  fact 
that  I  did  not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  speak 
upon  this  occasion,  until  about  9  o’clock  this 
morning.  You  have  given  me  the  land  of  the 
Dakotas.  Let  us  contemplate  what  the  land  of 
the  Dakotas  consists  of  as  compared  with  the 
territory  comprising  the  United  States.  The 
land  of  the  Dakotas  includes  more  territory  than 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Connect¬ 
icut,  Rhode  Island — that  great  big  State  of 
Rhode  Island  (laughter) — New  York,  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  Delaware,  New  Jersey  and  Ohio;  con¬ 
sequently,  you  have  given  me  a  big  subject  to 
talk  upon.  (Laughter.)  The  land  of  the 
Dakotas,  as  has  been  said,  has  been  made 
memorable  by  our  great  poet,  Longfellow,  and 
it  has  been  said  that  the  brightest  picture  of  it 
has  been  more  than  realized.  I  think  that  is 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


95 


true  in  one  sense.  The  two  cities  about  the 
falls  of  Minnehaha,  of  which  Longfellow  wrote, 
contain  probably  200,000  souls.  They  have  all 
been  planted  there  within  the  short  space  of 
thirty  or  forty  years.  I  recollect  that  when  the 
present  State  of  Minnesota  was  a  Territory, 
one  of  our  delegates  in  Congress  was  pleading 
for  a  grant  of  two  sections  of  land  in  each 
township  for  school  purposes,  which  is  not  the 
case  in  many  States,  but  we  finally  succeeded 
in  getting  a  grant  of  two  sections  in  each  town¬ 
ship  for  educational  purposes.  While  the  ques¬ 
tion  was  pending,  one  of  the  representatives 
from  the  State  of  Michigan,  who  was  on  the 
committee  that  had  that  matter  in  charge — -and 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  opposition  to  it — - 
finally  said:  “It  isn’t  any  use,  that  country  up 
there.  It  isn’t  of  any  use  in  God’s  kingdom. 
We  might  as  well  give  them  two  sections  as 
one."  (Laughter  and  applause.)  But  I  think 


96 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


the  people  of  this  country  have  found  out  that 
there  is  some  territory  worth  cultivating  up 
there.  As  I  have  said  those  two  cities,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  falls  of  Minnehaha,  contain  at 
least  200,000  inhabitants,  and  within  thirty 
years  our  population  has  increased  from  noth¬ 
ing  up  to  probably  not  less  than  4,000,000  of 
souls.  So  you  see  that  the  land  of  the  Dako¬ 
tas  has  become  an  important  part  of  this  coun¬ 
try  so  far  as  its  products  are  concerned.  You 
have  said  that  Hiawatha’s  hut  has  given  place  to 
palace  houses.  Not  only  those  two  cities,  fine 
residences  and  large  manufacturing  establish¬ 
ments,  but  all  through  the  State  of  Minnesota 
and  Dakota  you  will  find  cities  and  villages 
growing  rapidly.  You  have  said  also  that 
Hiawatha’s  hunting-grounds  have  become  smil¬ 
ing  farms.  Yes,  in  this  country,  where  it  was 
thought  forty  years  ago  that  it  was  nothing  but 
a  desert,  we  raise  in  the  two  States  of  Minne- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


97 


sota  and  Dakota  alone  not  less  than  75,000,000 
bushels  of  wheat.  Much  of  this  wheat  passes 
through  your  city  of  Chicago.  We  are  tribu¬ 
tary  in  that  respect.  It  goes  from  here  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  We  raise  this  amount  of 
wheat,  to  say  nothing  of  other  cereals  and 
stock.  I  represent  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
in  Minneapolis,  and  while  we  bow  to  Chicago 
as  being  the  great  place,  not  only  in  the  North¬ 
west  but  in  the  country,  we  feel  a  little  pride 
in  being  able  to  say  that  in  my  city  we  manu¬ 
facture  more  flour  than  in  any  other  city  in  the 
world.  Our  grain  trade  is  second  to  none  in 
the  United  States,  but  still  the  flour  that  we 
manufacture  and  the  wheat  that  we  raise,  most 
of  it,  passes  through  your  city  of  Chicago. 
When  you  consider  the  newness  of  our  coun¬ 
try,  the  fact  that  thirty  years  ago  the  city  of 
Minneapolis  had  hardly  a  human  being  in  it, 
that  now  we  manufacture  there  28,000  barrels 


98 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


of  flour  a  day,  requiring  450  cars,  or  twenty 
freight  trains  a  day  to  bring  in  the  product  and 
take  it  out,  I  think  you  will  say  we  are  a  grow¬ 
ing  city.  We  are  growing  in  the  Northwest. 
We  are  pleased  to  be  represented  here,  Mr. 
President.  The  relations  that  have  always  ex¬ 
isted  between  our  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
yours  have  been  of  the  most  intimate  and 
friendly  character.  You,  Mr.  President,  were 
kind  enough,  not  long  ago,  to  visit  our  city 
when  we  were  dedicating  our  Chamber  of  Com¬ 
merce.  It  is  not  to  be  compared  with  this,  but 
it  meets  our  wants  well,  and  we  thought  it  was 
appropriate  for  our  city  to  congratulate  you,  on 
behalf  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the 
city  of  Minneapolis  and  the  Northwest,  on 
your  success  in  building  this  beautiful  edifice, 
and  we  hope  that  the  pleasant  relations  which 
have  heretofore  existed  between  us  will  con¬ 
tinue  to  exist  in  the  future.  (Applause.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


99 


CINCINNATI. 

SIDNEY  D.  MAXWELL. 

President  Blake  then  introduced  the  next 
speaker  as  follows:  “We  not  only  have  a 
‘  wonderland  ’  in  our  country,  and  the  land  of  the 
‘  Dakotas,’  but  we  also  did  have  a  ‘borderland.’ 
Some  of  you  remember  well  what  was  called 
the  ‘Mason  and  Dixpn's  line.’  That  border 
line  has  been  tramped  out  by  the  tread  of  ar¬ 
mies.  (Applause.)  It  has  been  wiped  out  by 
share  of  plow  and  harrow’s  teeth.  It  has  been 
drawn  out  by  express  trains  and  fast  freight, 
and  tourists  and  travelers  find  but  faint  trace  of 
it.  It  is  fast  passing  from  the  memory  of  man. 
I  had  hoped  to  introduce  to  you  to-day  a  gen¬ 
tleman  from  Louisville,  but  he  is  not  able  to 
respond  to  your  kind  invitation,  at  least  the 


IOO 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


members  of  that  body  have  not  so  reported. 
Mr.  Sidney  D.  Maxwell,  the  superintendent  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Cincinnati,  who 
represents  the  country  where  that  line  did  ex¬ 
ist,  I  have  the  honor  now  to  introduce  to 
you.”  (Applause.)  Mr.  Maxwell  responded 
as  follows: 

Mr.  (President  and  Members  of  the  (Board  of 
Trade  of  Chicago: — In  the  name  of  the  “bor¬ 
derland,”  I  salute  you.  In  the  name  of  that 
borderland  that  felt  the.  shock  of  battle  and 
the  marching  and  counter-marching  of  ar¬ 
mies;  that  felt  the  anxieties  of  impending  con¬ 
flict,  which  sometimes  are  greater  than  the  con¬ 
flict  itself,  I  extend  to  you  hearty  greetings.  I 
tender  you  the  cordial  greetings  of  that  land— 
the  “borderland” — which,  since  the  war,  has 
used  its  energies  to  bind  up  the  Nation’s  wounds 
(applause);  to  develop  the  great  resources  of 
the  interior  of  this  country,  and  to  make  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


IOI 


people  of  this  land  one  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
name.  (Applause.) 

I  congratulate  you  on  what  you  have  attained 
in  the  name  also  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  Cincinnati,  which  I,  with  others  here,  have  the 
honor  to  represent — an  organization  which  was 
heard  in  commercial  councils  before  yours  was 
born,  and  yet  one  which  has  been  willing,  and 
is  now  willing  to  learn  from  you.  (Applause.) 
I  may  do  more  than  this — I  may  congratulate 
the  people  of  the  whole  country,  for  Chicago 
is  eminently  a  representative  of  this  country; 
she  represents  the  ceaseless  energy,  the  stu¬ 
pendous  vigor,  and  the  indomitable  persever¬ 
ance  of  the  people  of  this  country  as  no  other 
city  in  the  land  does.  It  is  the  expression  of 
the  commercial  possibilities  of  an  organization, 
whose  founders  have  had  the  opportunity  of 
laying  its  foundations  away  from  the  rubbish  of 
past  centuries.  (Applause.)  It  speaks  well 


102 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


for  the  commercial  bodies  of  this  land  that 
they  are  erecting  for  themselves  and  occupying 
houses  worthy  of  their  great  mission — of  their 
great  constituency.  St.  Louis,  New  York, 
Chicago  and  other  cities  have  houses  of  this 
kind,  and  now  Cincinnati  is  also  building  a 
house  for  its  own  commercial  home,  and  during 
our  centennial  year,  if  not  before,  we  hope 
to  invite  you,  gentlemen,  to  an  occasion  sim¬ 
ilar  to  this,  and  then,  if  it  be  found  that  the 
best  wine  shall  have  been  saved  for  the  last, 
I  am  sure  that  we  shall  receive  no  heartier 
congratulations  from  any  direction  than  from 
the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the 
city  of  Chicago.  (Applause.)  A  man  does 
not  rise  much  above  the  house  which  he  volun¬ 
tarily  and  permanently  inhabits.  I  know  no 
reason  why  the  same  rule  may  not  apply  to 
commercial  bodies.  Such  being  the  fact,  gen¬ 
tlemen  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  how 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


103 


much  this  room,  means.  How  its  ambitious 
ceilings  will  constantly  invite  you  to  lofty  pur¬ 
poses!  How  these  great  areas  will  suggest  to 
you  broad  thoughts,  liberal  policies  and  mag¬ 
nanimous  treatment  of  your  fellows!  How  the 
beauties  of  this  building  will  remind  you  of  the 
fact  that  money  in  this  world  is  only  of  value 
when  it  is  subordinated  to  some  public  or  pri¬ 
vate  good  (applause),  or  is  used  as  a  vehicle  to 
carry  its  possessions  up  above  the  contest  of 
merely  money-making  to  that  higher  sphere  of 
contemplating  beautiful  things — not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  (Applause.) 
This  magnificent  structure,  so  honorable  to  you, 
gentlemen,  may  become  to  you  a  constant 
blessing.  In  the  morning  it  will  welcome  you 
as  you  come  to  engage  in  the  work  of  the  day; 
it  will  encourage  you  in  its  trials;  it  will  nerve 
you  for  the  contest  in  this  arena  where  the  mer¬ 
cantile  giants  will  measure  arms,  and  after  the 


io4 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


labors  of  the  day — it  may  be  after  its  trials,  its 
reverses,  and  its  losses — it  will,  if  you  will  but 
hear  it,  say  to  you,  “  Good  night,”  and  bid  you 
go  to  your  homes  to  rest,  as  the  sun,  after  urg¬ 
ing  his  chariot  through  the  fiery  hours  of  the 
summer’s  day,  passes  the  golden  portals  of  the 
West  and  sets  in  peace.  (Applause.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


!05 


NASHVILLE. 

COL.  G.  S.  KINNEY. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  next  speaker 
in  the  following  words  :  “  Gentlemen  :  I  am 

going  to  keep  my  promise.  We  have  a  trop¬ 
ical  land  as  well  as  a  cold  one.  The  North 
and  the  whole  country  extends  a  hearty  greet¬ 
ing  to  the  gulf.  The  children  of  the  Sunny 
Land  ! — while  our  soils  and  our  climes  are  dif¬ 
ferent,  our  interests  are  one — the  Union  for¬ 
ever.  (Applause.)  I  now  bring  to  you  Col. 
G.  S.  Kinney,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  who  will 
represent  the  South.”  (Applause.) 

Col.  Kinney  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  (Board 
of  Trade  of  Chicago: — In  pursuance  of  the 
courtesy  of  the  invitation  from  that  body — the 


io6 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Merchants’  Exchange  of  Nashville — I  have 
the  honor  and  am  present  as  a  delegate  of  that 
body  to  represent  them  here,  and  to  bear  their 
congratulations  to  you  on  this  occasion,  on  the 
dedication  of  this  magnificent  edifice  as  a  tem¬ 
ple  of  commerce.  We  know  that  whilst  this 
is  a  great  achievement  you  have  accomplished, 
yet,  when  we  know  and  look  back  and  see 
what  you  have  done,  it  is  but  a  small  atom  of 
the  labors  you  have  performed. 

Chicago  enjoys  the  reputation  all  over  this 
broad  land,  and  in  foreign  lands,  of  being  the 
largest  grain  and  provision  market  in  the 
world.  She  is  a  fair  epitome,  a  true  index  and 
representation  of  the  great  national  reputation 
that  we  have  for  grandness  and  glory;  a 
Nation,  I  may  say,  who  in  one  century  has 
gained  from  3,000,000  people  until  to-day  she 
has  about  60,000,000  of  people  ;  a  nation 
whose  aggregated  wealth,  and  upon  high 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


IO7 


authority,  is  estimated  at  the  enormous  sum  of 
about  $45,000,000,000;  a  nation  whose  indus¬ 
tries  largely  outrival  those  of  any  other  civil¬ 
ized  country  in  the  world.  Take,  for  instance, 
our  railroad  industry.  This  nation  has  built 
and  successfully  operates  125,000  miles  of  rail¬ 
road — enough  to  encircle  this  world  five  times, 
and  equal  in  number  of  miles  to  the  number 
of  miles  of  railroad  owned  by  the  balance  of 
the  civilized  world.  This  nation  has  done 
this.  She  has  done  this  for  the  purpose  of 
gathering  in  the  produce  of  this  country,  and 
the  Government,  in  order  to  enable  her  to  do 
it,  has  furnished  by  way  of  grants  of  public 
domain. and  loans  from  her  treasury,  possibly 
$500,000,000.  That  has  been  done  and 
accomplished. 

The  industries  of  our  country,  factories, 
mines,  and  mills  and  furnaces,  are  of  a  suf¬ 
ficient  capacity  to  run  on  six  months  full 


io8 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


blast,  and  to  supply  the  domestic  demands  of 
our  country  for  twelve  months  free.  That 
leaves  us  with  a  surplus  on  hand  of  an  amount 
not  equaled  for  the  past  two  or  three  years. 
We  must  provide  for  this  surplus  if  we  wish  to 
be  a  great  nation.  Now,  it  is  quite  necessary 
for  the  boards  of  trade  all  over  this  land  to 
urge  upon  the  Government  the  importance  of 
establishing  steamship  lines  and  sailing  ship 
lines  both  down  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic 
coasts,  down  to  the  coast  of  Mexico,  Central 
America,  the  South  American  governments, 
and  the  West  India  Islands.  There  is  a  large 
and  rich  field  for  this  country  and  for  the 
merchants  of  this  country.  To  give  you  some 
idea  of  the  importance  of  that  trade  and  the 
necessity  of  our  efforts  through  the  boards  of 
trade  throughout  the  country,  I  will  state  to 
you  that  our  trade  in  I884  with  the  Brazilian 
Empire,  was  this  :  We  purchased  of  her 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


109 


about  $50,000,000,  and  sold  her  only  about 
$8,000,000.  England  sold  her,  in  1883,  about  - 
$34,000,000,  and  bought  from  her  only  $29,- 
000,000.  This  shows  you  the  importance  of 
our  getting  hold  of  the  trade  that  naturally 
falls  to  us  ;  and  hence  my  reasons  for  saying 
you  must  not  stop  while  you  have  achieved 
great  glory  as  a  Board  of  Trade  here.  Your 
mission  must  go  onward  and  upward,  and  with 
the  proper  lines  of  steamships  established  to 
these  countries  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world 
why,  in  the  next  five  or  ten  years  we  should 
not  have,  and  Chicago  should  not  have  double 
the  trade  she  has  got  to-day. 

And  in  that  connection  it  will  be  well  to 
urge  upon  the  Government  to  lend  her  encour¬ 
agement  by  the  use  of  favorable  contracts  for 
carrying  the  mails  by  steamship  lines  and  in 
other  ways  to  give  us  an  outlet  for  the  surplus 
that  has  been  a  drag  upon  our  nation  for  two 


I  IO 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


or  three  years  past — as  many  of  you  know — 
even  at  the  price  below  the  cost  of  production. 
I  remember  back  a  few  years  ago  when  a  keg 
of  nails  manufactured — ioo  pounds  in  a  keg — 
was  sold  in  the  market  of  Cincinnati,  I  believe, 
at  about  $1.70  or  $1.75  a  keg.  That  was  be¬ 
low  the  cost  of  production.  No  later  than  last 
fall  a  good  article  of  flour  was  sold  in  this 
country  at  $2.15  to  $2.25  a  barrel.  What  na¬ 
tion  on  earth  can  compete  with  us  if  we  can 
only  get  the  markets  which  naturally  belong 
to  this  country  and  the  government  ? 

Then,  gentlemen,  there  is  something  we  can 
do  within  ourselves  without  asking  the  head 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  for. 
It  is  well  known  to  you  all  that  the  countries  I 
refer  to  speak  the  Spanish  language;  it  is  also 
well  known  to  you  that  in  many  of  the  States 
of  this  nation  and  many  of  the  cities  of  this 
nation  we  have  adopted  the  public  school  sys- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


I  I  I 


tem.  Now,  upon  this  point  it  is  necessary  for 
you  to  urge  the  incorporation  of  the  Spanish 
language  into  the  course  of  study  of  our  pub¬ 
lic  schools  in  order  to  educate  the  youths  of 
our  country  and  render  them  familiar  with  the 
language.  That  accomplished,  with  the  lines 
we  will  have  established,  there  can  be  no  pos¬ 
sible  doubt  but  what  it  will  turn  the  tide  of 
commerce  from  European  shores  into  our  own 
laps.  These  are  some  reflections  that  have 
come  to  me,  and  I  thought  it  proper  to  speak 
to  you  of  them. 

I  can  say  to  you,  as  I  understand  these  rep¬ 
resentatives  from  the  Gulf  States,  knowing  the 
Southern  character  as  I  know  it,  generous  and 
noble,  they  never  will  forget  the  kindness  of 
Chicago  in  coming  to  them  just  at  the  close  of 
the  war  when  the  country  was  desolate;  how 
fairly  you  came  to  them  with  a  helping  hand 
and  sold  them  goods  and  placed  them  upon  a 


I  I  2 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


footing,  and  to-day  they  honor  you  for  the 
good  you  have  done  in  placing  them  upon  a 
sound  financial  basis.  Chicago  as  well  as  oth¬ 
er  cities  of  the  North  did  that,  and  the  people 
of  the  South  will  never  forget  it  in  you.  I 
tender  you  their  congratulations  to-day  in  the 
noble  work  of  completing  this  fine  edifice  and 
temple  of  commerce,  and  we  hope  and  trust 
that  in  the  future  your  prosperity  will  be  con¬ 
tinued. 

Gentlemen,  it  was  not  my  intention  to  have 
made  any  talk  to  you  to-day,  and  I  was  not 
aware  that  I  would  be  called  upon  until  after 
10  o’clock.  The  orator  of  our  delegation  was 
late  in  reaching  the  city;  in  fact,  I  did  not 
know  he  had  reached  the  city  until  after  my 
arrival  in  the  building.  I  have  seen  him  since 
I  have  been  here.  I  hope  you  will  excuse  the 
desultory  manner  in  which  I  have  thrown  out 
some  thoughts  which  have  occurred  to  me, 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  I  1 3 

that  I  believed  would  be  of  service  to  our 
great  country,  which  I  shall  always  honor  and 
endeavor  to  uphold. 

There  is  one  other  thing  I  desire  to  call 
your  attention  to:  There  is  the  Clayton-Bul- 
wer  treaty,  entered  into  in  1856  between  the 
Governments  of  England  and  the  United 
States,  which  is  a  menace  and  a  terror  to  our 
commercial  and  political  prosperity  in  Central 
America.  I  believe  that  treaty  contains  one 
clause  that  provides  that  whenever  notice  is 
given  by  either  party  to  the  treaty,  that  it  can 
be  abolished  in  six  months  thereafter.  Such  a 
treaty  as  that  ought  not  to  stand  in  force. 
We  ought  to  wipe  it  out  at  once  without  any 
fuss,  and  do  it  in  a  proper  manner,  and  with 
that  done  there  is  no  reason  why  we  could  not 
enjoy  the  trade  of  Central  America,  complete 
our  canal  through  Nicaragua,  put  a  road 
through  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  get  our  goods 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


I  14 


down  on  the  other  side.  As  that  stands  to¬ 
day  we  cannot  do  that  without  getting  permis¬ 
sion  from  England.  I  say  there  is  nothing  to 
prevent  it.  It  ought  to  be  abolished,  and  our 
greatness  depends  a  good  deal  upon  whether 
we  abolish  that  or  not. 

I  hope,  gentlemen,  you  will  go  on  in  pros¬ 
perity  and  happiness  from  now  on.  I  thank 
you  for  your  kind  attention.”  (Applause.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


I  15 


PHILADELPHIA. 

WILSON  WELCH. 

President  Blake  introduced  Philadelphia’s 
speaker  in  the  following  words:  “ Gentlemen: 
At  one  time  in  our  history  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  held  an  October  election,  and  I 
well  remember  in  my  early  days  being  in  Fan- 
euil  Hall.  Daniel  Webster  was  to  deliver  a 
speech — a  political  speech — shortly  after  the 
1  st  of  October.  Faneuil  Hall  was  packed  to 
its  utmost.  Daniel  Webster  had  hosts  of  ad¬ 
mirers.  The  first  word  he  said,  and  it  was  the 
only  word  he  could  utter  for  a  number  of  min¬ 
utes,  was  ‘  Pennsylvania.’  Her  election  had 
gone  favorable  to  Webster.  And  in  introduc¬ 
ing  to  you  to-day  Mr.  Wilson  Welch,  of  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  all  I  have  to  say  is  ‘  Philadelphia.’  ” 


I  1 6  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

Mr.  Welch  arose  and  addressed  the  audi¬ 
ence  as  follows  : 

Mr.  (President  and  Members  of  the  Chicago 
(Board  of  Trade: — There  are  times  and  occa¬ 
sions  when  to  be  the  most  impressive  is  to  be 
silent,  and  I  have  thought  how  utterly  insignif¬ 
icant  are  any  words  that  can  be  uttered  here 
to-day  as  expressive  of  your  city’s  growth  in 
all  that  constitutes  material  progress  when 
compared  with  the  evidence  which  the  city 
itself  presents  of  thrift,  energy  and  enterprise, 
and  with  this  magnificent  and  stately  building 
now  being  dedicated  to  the  service  and  re¬ 
quirements  of  your  leading  trade  interest. 
Gentlemen,  there  are  many  important  and  val¬ 
uable  lessons  to  be  learned  from  the  review  of 
Chicago’s  growth,  such  as  we  have  listened  to 
to-day,  which  future  economy  will  not  fail  to 
utilize  for  the  benefit  of  other  nations  and  suc¬ 
ceeding  generations.  And  if,  as  I  hope  and  be- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  I  1 7 

lieve,  the  future  will  show  great  advancement 
made  also  in  adapting  her  National,  State  and 
Municipal  Governments  to  the  changed  and 
changing  conditions  of  our  civilization,  this 
century  and  particularly  this  country  will  have 
seen  giant  strides  toward  its  realization  of  those 
possibilities  to  the  race  which  only  the  most 
enthusiastic  could  ever  dream  of.  To  what 
may  we  attribute  this  unparalleled  growth,  not 
only  of  your  own  city  but  of  the  whole  coun¬ 
try?  Let  me  suggest  an  answer  to  this  ques¬ 
tion  by  making  a  comparison:  The  eyes  of  the 
world,  and  particularly  the  speculative  eyes, 
have  been  turned  for  the  past  few  weeks 
toward  Russia.  Has  it  occurred  to  any  of 
you  to  compare  the  conditions  of  that  country 
with  our  own?  When  the  Declaration  of  In¬ 
dependence  was  adopted  and  the  colonies  or¬ 
ganized  a  government  for  themselves  Russia 
was  one  of  the  leading  powers  of  the  world — 


1 1 8 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


with  an  immense  territory  and  great  natural 
resources.  How  have  they  been  improved, 
and  what  is  the  condition  of  that  country  and 
her  people  to-day  as  compared  with  our  own? 

I  do  not  intend  to  occupy  your  time  with  ex- 

/ 

tended  comparisons.  Every  one  here  to-day 
knows  that  Russia  is  the  representative  of  all 
that  is  aggressive  and  despotic  in  government; 
that  her  people  are  ignorant  and  inapt,  and 
that  her  resources  have  been  but  poorly  devel¬ 
oped.  Now,  we  know  that  there  is  much  in 
race  and  blood,  and  very  much  in  government 
to  advance  or  retard  a  nation’s  growth,  and  we 
believe  also  that  a  potent  factor  in  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  this  country,  as  compared  with  Russia, 
lies  in  the  cultivation  of  a  commercial  spirit  in 
this  country  and  its  neglect  or  repression  in 
Russia.  The  same  causes  produced  similar 
results  among  the  ancients,  and  we  have  an 
admirable  exemplification  of  this  law  of  growth 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  II9 

in  the  industrial  development  of  England  and 
the  success  of  her  colonial  enterprise.  If,  then, 
this  commercial  spirit  is  the  basis  of  your  city’s 
and  of  the  Nation’s  prosperity  and  growth,  is 
it  not  of  great  importance  that  those  who  are 
most  influential  in  its  promotion  should  exer¬ 
cise  a  corresponding  influence  in  the  legislation 
of  the  country  and  in  the  administration  of  the 
government.  Does  any  one  believe  that  if  the 
business  men  of  the  country  had  been  influen¬ 
tial  in  its  legislation  for  the  past  few  years,  we 
should  have  these  contradictions  in  our  com¬ 
mercial  system  that  now  exist,  or  that  we 
should  be  suffering  year  after  year  for  legisla¬ 
tion  which  is  necessary  to  place  our  manufact¬ 
uring  and  shipping  interests  upon  a  healthy 
basis?  I  trust,  therefore,  that  all  of  the  com¬ 
mercial  organizations  of  the  country,  as  they 

increase  in  number  and  influence,  will  be  found 

% 

acting  together  in  improving  or  eliminating  our 


120 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


present  vicious  system  of  party  government, 
and  insisting  upon  being  properly  recognized 
in  the  legislation  of  the  country.  As  a  repre¬ 
sentative  of  the  Commercial  Exchange  of  Phil¬ 
adelphia,  it  will  be  expected  I  shall  say  some¬ 
thing  of  that  city.  Webster  once  said  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  upon  a  memorable  occasion:  “She 
needs  no  eulogy;  the  past  at  least  is  secure. 
There  stands  Boston,  Lexington  and  Bunker 
Hill,  and  there  they  will  stand  forever.”  May 
I  not  say  of  Philadelphia,  in  a  similar  spirit  at 
least,  that  from  the  time  when  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  adopted  and  promulgated 
from  that  old  hall,  whose  memories  she  so 
much  cherishes,  up  to  the  period  when  she  car¬ 
ried  to  a  successful  fruition  the  centennial  cele¬ 
bration  of  that  event,  she  has  been  energ'etic 
and  conspicuous  in  building  up  her  manufact¬ 
uring  industries,  until  to-day  they  are  unrivaled 
in  magnitude  and  variety  in  this  or  any  city  in 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


12  I 


the  country.  The  coal,  iron  and  capital  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Philadelphia  have  contrib¬ 
uted  largely  to  the  development  of  this  West¬ 
ern  country,  whilst  her  great  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  is  certainly  an  important  factor  in  the 
carrying  trade  of  your  city,  affording  as  it  does 
a  choice  of  the  principal  markets  of  the  sea¬ 
board  over  its  line.  But  I  have  already  occu¬ 
pied  too  much  of  your  time,  and  have  no  taste 
for  self-glorification.  In  conclusion,  let  me  say 
that  the  Commercial  Exchange  of  Philadelphia 
sends  greetings  to  her  sister  organization  of 
Chicago,  and  hopes  that  her  future  prosperity 
in  the  new  hall  will  be  equal  to  what  it  has 
been  in  the  old.  (Applause.) 


122 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


BALTIMORE. 

GEORGE  H  BAER. 

/ 

President  Blake  introduced  the  concluding 
speaker  as  follows:  Maryland,  my  Mary¬ 

land/  will  not  let  you  go  home  until  she  makes 
her  congratulatory  bow  to  you  in  the  person  of 
Mr.  George  H.  Baer,  of  Baltimore.” 

Mr.  Baer  addressed  the  assembly  as  follows: 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  (Board 
of  Trade  of  Chicago: — In  the  name  and  on  be¬ 
half  of  Baltimore  I  offer  you  our  hearty  con¬ 
gratulations  upon  the  erection  of  this  magnifi¬ 
cent  temple,  which  you  have  this  day  with  such 
impressive  ceremonies  dedicated  to  all  that  was 
honorable  and  noble  in  trade.  It  is  worthy, 
sir,  of  the  great  metropolis  in  which  it  has  been 
reared,  and  may  it  stand  for  generations  as  a 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


123 


monument  to  the  men  whose  brains  conceived 
and  whose  energies  carried  it  to  a  successful 
completion.  (Applause.)  When  one  reflects 
that  this  great  city  of  700,000  people,  with  its 
great  and  imposing  business  palaces,  its  parks, 
its  monuments,  its  industrial  establishments, 
has  grown  up  on  the  shore  of  this  inland  sea 
within  the  memory  of  men  still  living,  who  can 
tell  what  might  not  be  predicted  of  the  future 
of  Chicago?  You  have  gathered  around  you 
to-day  the  representatives  of  kindred  institu¬ 
tions  from  all  over  the  land  and  from  beyond 
the  sea,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  speak  the  senti- 
ments  of  all  when  I  say  that  we  join  with  you 
in  rejoicing  at  this  evidence  of  your  remarkable 
progress  and  prosperity.  We  feel  a  pride  in 
the  wonderful  growth  of  Chicago  scarcely  in¬ 
ferior  to  your  own,  and  claim  it  as  part  and  par¬ 
cel  of  a  common  heritage,  the  common  glory 
of  our  common  country.  (Applause.)  Mr. 


1 24 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


President,  we  of  Baltimore  are  bound  to  you 
by  a  community  of  interests.  Our  own  trunk 
line  makes  one  of  its  western  termini  in  your 
city,  and  we  are  so  favorably  situated  naturally 
that  our  city/  is  the  natural  gateway  of  a  good 
portion  of  the  cereal  products  of  this  great 
grain  producing  region.  We  intend  to  take  no 
step  back,  but  to  keep  her,  as  she  has  been  for 
years,  the  second  port  on  the  Atlantic  coast; 
and  I  trust  the  representative  from  New  York 
will  not  be  unduly  alarmed  when  I  say  we  have 
some  hope  of  making  her  in  the  not  distant 
future  the  first.  (Applause  and  laughter.) 
When  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Com¬ 
pany  built  the  first  railroad  elevator  after  the 
Chicago  model,  when  we  reared  its  majestic 

front  on  the  seaboard,  we  came  to  you  and  you 
sent  us  a  Chicago  boy  to  show  us  how  to  run 

and  superintend  it.  And  right  here  and  now, 
in  his  old  home,  surrounded  by  his  acquaint- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


I25 


ances  and  friends,  I  want  to  bear  Baltimore’s 
testimony  to  the  ability,  the  services  and  the 
character  of  Frederick  A.  Wheeler  (applause), 
the  superintendent  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad  Company’s  elevator.  If  he  were  not 
present,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  might  say  more;  I 
could  have  said  no  less.  And  now,  sir,  I  con¬ 
gratulate  you  again.  Allow  me  to  express  the 
hope  that  great  as  have  been  the  success  and 
achievements  of  Chicago  in  the  past,  we  hope 
that  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  future 
will  be  more  grand  and  glorious  still.  (Ap¬ 
plause.) 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


I  26 


REGRETS  AND  DISMISSAL. 

1 

THE  CEREMONIES  CONCLUDED. 

When  the  speaker  had  finished,  President 
Blake  said:  “The  members  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  know  what  a  ‘ticker’  is,  and  I  have  a 
private  dispatch  in  regard  to  which  I  am  going 
to  betray  confidence,  and  read  it: 

UiTo  the  (President  of  the  (Board  of  Trade , 
Chicago: — Accept  my  congratulations  upon 
the  opening  of  your  new  Board  of  Trade.  No 
better  monument  to  the  enterprise  and  perse¬ 
verance  of  your  merchants  could  be  erected. 
Chicago  is  the  metropolis  of  the  great  West, 
and  is  entitled  to  just  such  a  noble  edifice  as 
an  exchange,  and  I  hope  that  the  new  build- 
ing,  immense  as  it  is,  will  prove  inadequate  to 
the  business  for  which  it  has  been  constructed. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


I27 


Please  convey  to  all  my  fellow  members  my 
best  wishes  for  their  continued  health  and 
prosperity,  and  my  great  regret  in  not  being 
able  to  be  present  to  join  the  dedication  — 
Henry  Clews.’ 

“Oh,  I  didn’t  mean  to  give  the  name.  For¬ 
get  the  name,  please.  (Applause  and  laughter.) 

“We  also  have  a  communication  bearing 
regrets  from  the  Manhattan  Hay  and  Produce 
Exchange  of  New  York.  We  also  have  from 
Denver,  Col.,  the  following: 

“‘The  Denver  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
Board  of  Trade  send  congratulations.  Let  us 
all  be  thankful  for  that  American  stability 
which  enables  Chicago  to  celebrate  in  peace, 
while  the  commerce  of  the  old  world  is  shak¬ 
ing  under  the  hazards  of  impending  wars.’ 

“We  have  also  this  from  St.  Joseph,  Mo.: 

“  ‘  Owing  to  the  pressure  of  official  business, 
the  Hon.  W.  Harting,  Mayor  of  St.  Joe,  and 


128 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Col.  A.  C.  Dawes,  General  Passenger  Agent, 
Kansas  City  &  St.  joe  and  the  Chicago, 
Burlington  &  Quincy  Railway,  who  were  ap¬ 
pointed  representatives  of  this  board  to  your 
celebration,  find  it  impossible  to  attend.  Ac¬ 
cept  congratulations  and  best  wishes  of  the  St. 
Joe  Board  of  Trade.’  ” 

Having  dispatched  the  business  of  the  occa¬ 
sion,  President  Blake  dismissed  the  assem¬ 
blage  as  follows  : 

“  With  this,  gentlemen  of  the  Board,  our 
exercises  close,  except  so  far  as  the  musicians 
will  contribute  to  our  pleasure  and  happiness, 
as  they  always  do.  Permit  me  to  congratulate 
you  upon  this  beautiful  day,  and  upon  the 
auspices  and  surroundings  that  are  about  to 
usher  in  trade  on  this  floor  to-morrow  morn¬ 
ing.  I  don’t  know  who  will  buy  the  first 
‘  five,’  or  who  will  sell  it,  but  he  is  a  happy 
man,  whoever  he  is.  And  now,  gentlemen, 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


I  29 


these  exercises  of  this  dedicatory  ceremony 
have  closed.”  (Applause.) 

Thus  concluded  the  historical  ceremonies 
attending  the  formal  dedication  of  the  com¬ 
mercial  palace  of  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Trade. 


BANQUET. 


At  10:20  o’clock  President  Blake  rapped  vig¬ 
orously  for  order,  and  having  obtained  an  ap¬ 
proximate  quiet,  said: 

Gentlemen: — The  hour  is  getting  late;  the 
Committee  of  Arrangements  have  invited  quite 
a  number  of  gentlemen  to  make  brief  ad¬ 
dresses  to  you  here  this  evening,  and  in  order 
to  get  through  with  our  program  we  must  now 
call  you  to  order,  and  without  any  extended 


130 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


remarks  of  mine  we  will  now  commence  with 
our  list.  I  know  you  would  not  pardon  me  if 
I  were  to  open  the  feast  of  reason  and  flow  of 
soul  without  referring  to  “Our  Country.” 
Judge  Gresham  was  invited  by  the  Committee 
of  Arrangements  to  be  present  here  this  even¬ 
ing  and  to  respond  to  the  sentiment.  Secre¬ 
tary  Stone  will  now  read  a  letter  of  his  in  re¬ 
gard  thereto. 

Secretary  Stone  then  read  the  following  let¬ 
ter: 

“Chicago,  April  27. 

“  E.  Nelson  Blake,  Esq.,  President  of  The 

Board  of  Trade. 

“My  (bear  Sir : — I  have  just  returned  from 
Madison,  and  find  your  polite  letter,  of  the  23d 
instant,  inviting  me  to  attend  a  banquet  to  be 
given  by  the  Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  at  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel  on  the 
evening  of  the  29th  instant,  and  to  respond  to 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  1 3 1 

the  toast  ‘  Our  Country.’  I  regret  that  a  pre¬ 
vious  engagement  will  compel  me  to  be  else¬ 
where  on  that  evening.  Thanking  you  for  the 
courtesy  of  your  invitation, 

“  Yours  truly, 

“  W.  Q.  Gresham.” 

After  Mr.  Stone  had  read*the  letter  of  Judge 
Gresham,  President  Blake  announced  that  at 
a  very  late  hour  Postmaster  Palmer  had  con¬ 
sented  to  respond  to  the  sentiment  to  which 
Judge  Gresham  was  to  respond.  He  asked 
that  the  banqueters  show  to  the  Postmaster 
every  consideration  in  consenting  to  reply  at 
so  late  an  hour,  and  in  view  of  the  brief  oppor¬ 
tunity  he  had  to  prepare  himself.  President 
Blake  then  announced  the  sentiment:  “Our 
Country — fortunate  in  position,  in  govern¬ 
ment  and  in  natural  resources.  The  best  of 

the  world  here  find  a  home  to  build  man’s  ideal 

( 

empire,  and  to  prove  a  universal  brotherhood.” 


132 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Postmaster  Palmer  arose  amid  applause,  and 
spoke  as  follows: 

The  sentiment  which  has  just  been  read,  and 
which,  by  your  courtesy,  I  have  been  asked  to 
respond  to,  is  a  deep  and  comprehensive  one  in 
itself.  Our  country  is  fortunate  in  its  geo¬ 
graphical  position;  its  shores  are  washed  by 
two  great  oceans;  its  lakes  are  in  themselves 
great  inland  seas;  its  rivers,  some  of  which 
extend  from  outer  boundary  to  outer  bound¬ 
ary,  swell  to  the  proportions  of  lakes  in  their 
march  to  the  sea.  Its  mountains  are  filled 
with  precious  and  useful  metals;  its  valleys 
teem  with  fertility;  its  position  on  the  surface 
of  the  globe  occupies,  in  that  grandest  of  all 
positions,  the  temperate  zone,  and  it  lies  in  the 
great  track  of  commerce  between  Europe  and 
Asia;  but  with  all  these  geographical  advant¬ 
ages  and  these  great  natural  resources,  it 
would  be  as  naught  except  for  the  system  of 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


133 


National  Government  under  which  we  live. 
(Cheers.)  That  system  of  National  Govern¬ 
ment  is  based  upon  the  great  doctrine  of  the 
equality  of  right  of  all  men  without  regard  to 
condition  or  color  or  nationality.  The  only 
exception  there  is  to  this  is  that  discrimination 
in  our  laws  against  the  almond-eyed  children 
of  the  sun,  so  that  only  fifteen  of  them  may 
come  upon  our  shores  at  a  time,  as  if  safety 
and  conservatism  were  connected  with  that 
number  fifteen,  and  if  there  should  happen  to 
be  sixteen  there  would  be  danger  of  possible 
dissolution,  possible  death.  (Cheers.)  I  for 
one  believe  that  the  people  are  better  than 
their  laws,  and  that  some  day  there  will  be  such 
a  change  that  this  discrimination  will  no  longer 
exist  against  any  color  or  any  man.  (Wild 
applause.)  We  send  missionaries  to  the  hea¬ 
then,  and  if  the  heathen  voluntarily  see  fit  to 
come  to  the  missionaries,  in  God’s  name  let 


134 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


them  come.  (Cheers.)  With  this  exception 
we  invite  the  oppressed  people  of  the  world  to 
come  here  and  enjoy  the  benefits  of  this  grand 
system  of  National  Government,  They  come 
here,  because  here  they  can  own  their  own 
consciences,  they  can  own  their  own  speech. 
Here  they  can  have  free  labor  and  abundant 
reward  for  that  labor.  Here  the  industrious 
poor  can  establish  their  homes.  Here  educa¬ 
tion  is  free.  Here  every  avenue  to  employ¬ 
ment  and  advancement  in  agriculture,  in  the 
manufactures,  arts,  sciences  and  professions,  in 
the  offices  of  emoluments  and  honor  in  Church 
and  State  are  open  alike  to  all  nationality  and 
all  classes,  the  only  test  being  the  test  of  merit, 
the  nobility  of  mind;  the  aristocracy  of  merit 
in  this  country  being  the  only  aristocracy  there 
is,  and  which  is  the  only  one  there  ought  to  be 
here  and  hereafter.  (Cheers.)  Taxation  here 
rests  upon  their  shoulders  so  lightly,  I  mean 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


135 


national  taxation,  that  if  they  should  judge  by 
this  alone,  they  would  scarcely  know  that  they 

had  a  government  at  all.  They  come  here 

* 

because  every  man,  politically,  is  the  equal  of 
every  other  man.  It  is  because  of  this  equal¬ 
ity  in  all  the  avenues  and  avocations  of  life 
that  this  country  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to 
the  Pacific  seaboard  has  been  peopled  in  less 
than  100  years,  so  that  we  have  now  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  nearly  60,000,000  souls,  outrivaling  the 
growth  of  any  other  people  or  any  other  coun¬ 
try  on  the  globe.  (Cheers.)  It  is  because  of 
this  equality  of  privileges  that  your  own  city 
has  sprung  up  here  from  your  prairies  until  it 
numbers  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  million 
souls.  It  is  because  of  this  equality  of  privi¬ 
leges  that  your  own  association  has  grown  in 
less  than  forty  years  from  nothing  to  a  mem¬ 
bership  of  nearly  2,000.  It  is  because  of  this 
equality  that  you  have  been  enabled  to  raise 


136  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


this  structure,  which  to-day  you  have  dedi¬ 
cated,  which  has  arisen  as  if  it  had  been  by  the 
touch  of  Aladdin’s  lamp,  so  that  it  is  the  pride 
of  the  Northwest,  the  pride  of  the  Nation. 
My  friends,  I  have  tried  to  limit  myself  to  ten 
minutes,  so  that  those  who  may  follow  me  may 
not  be  limited  in  their  time.  Let  me  say  one 
thing  in  connection  with  what  has  been  in  the 
minds  of  thousands  of  people  in  regard  to  the 
history  of  the  people  of  this  country,  and  that 
is  that  at  every  great  crisis  in  its  history  it  has 
developed  some  great  leader  who  has  met  that 
crisis.  You  may  call  it  accident,  you  may  call 
it  special  Providence,  you  may  call  it  whatever 
you  will.  I  believe  it  has  come  through  the 
intelligence  and  the  patriotism  of  the  people 
in  discovering  the  merit  of  that  leader,  and 
strengthening  his  hands,  and  supporting  him 
through  good  report  and  evil  report,  so  that  he 
may  be  able  to  lead  the  people  to  success  in 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


137 


whatever  exigency  they  may  have  been.  Who 
else  than  Thomas  Jefferson  could  have  written 
that  great  declaration  of  rights  which  our 
fathers  promulgated  on  the  fourth  day  of  July, 
1776?  Who  else  than  George  Washington 
could  have  led  their  armies  through  a  seven 
years’  war?  Who  else  than  Alexander  Hamil¬ 
ton  could  have  framed  that  admirable  system 
of  finance,  which  has  been  incorporated  into 
your  constitution  of  the  United  States?  Who 
else  than  Daniel  Webster  could  have  promul¬ 
gated  those  doctrines  as  to  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  which  have  been  followed 
constantly  from  that  time  to  this?  Who  else 
than  ‘‘Old  Hickory”  could  have  executed  his 
construction  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States  ?  And  so  I  might  go  on  through  all  that 
list  of  great  men — men  who  have  met  the  great 
exigencies  of  the  time,  including  U.  S.  Grant 
(cheers),  including  Abraham  Lincoln  (cheers). 


138  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

A  monument  has  recently  been  completed 
irf  Washington,  said  to  be  the  highest  in  the 
world,  to  the  memory  of  one  of  the  men 
whose  names  I  have  mentioned.  If  we  should 
build  monuments,  which  should  be  measured 
by  the  merits  of  the  men,  you  would  build  one 
in  Virginia  to  Jefferson;  you  would  build  one  to 
Alexander  Hamilton  in  New  York;  you  would 
build  one  to  Daniel  Webster  in  New  Hamp¬ 
shire;  you  would  build  one  in  Tennessee  to 
“Old  Hickory;’’  you  would  build  one  in  Ohio 
to  Edwin  M.  Stanton  (cheers),  and  you  would 
build  two  here  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois;  and 
if  we  should  measure  the  merits  of  the  men 
whom  those  monuments  would  commemorate, 
you  would  make  them  as  high  as  Chimborazo. 
(Cheers.) 

I  believe,  my  friends,  that  with  the  patriot¬ 
ism  of  the  people,  the  intelligence  of  the  peo¬ 
ple,  to  stimulate  and  encourage  the  great  lead- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


139 


ers  which  the  exigencies  of  our  Government 
have  developed,  it  will  be  maintained  down  from 
father  to  son,  in  endless  generation,  and  that  it 
will  continue  to  be  the  outer  empire  of  the 
world.  (Cheers.)  [] 


140 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


ILLINOIS. 

gov.  oglesby’s  regrets. 

President  Blake  announced  the  next  toast: 

“‘The  Nation  first,  the  State  next.’ 

“  Gov.  Oglesby  accepted  our  invitation  to  be 
present  here  this  evening.  The  Secretary  will 
now  read  a  telegram  just  received  from  him.” 

Secretary  Stone  read  the  following  telegram: 

Springfield,  April  29. 

“To  The  Secretary  of  The  Board  of 
Trade: 

“  I  very  deeply  regret  to  find  at  the  last  mo- 
“  ment  that  I  cannot  be  present  at  the  banquet 
“to-night.  I  congratulate  the  Board  of  Trade 
“on  the  dedication  of  that  grand  structure  it 
“  has  erected;  an  honor  to  the  State  and  to  the 
“  Nation.” 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  141 

C President  (Blake: — “The  sentiment  to  which 
the  Governor  was  to  respond,  of  course,  could 
be  nothing  else  than  “  Illinois — a  queen  among 
her  sisters,  an  empire  in  herself;  without  a  debt; 
wealthy  in  agricultural  resources;  pouring  much 
into  the  Government’s  coffers,  asking  but  little 
in  return,  she  whispers  ‘Hennepin  Canal.’” 
(Cheers.) 


142 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


THE  CITY. 

MAYOR  HARRISON. 

f. President  (Blake: — “The  Nation,  the  State; 
what  comes  next?  ‘Chicago,’  the  young, 
vigorous,  blooming  daughter  of  the  prairie, 
rising  like  a  fair  lily  from  her  muddy  home, 
her  brow  cooled  by  the  lake  and  kissed  by  the 
prairie  breezes;  she  is  jealous  of  her  Mayor- 
lover,  who  deserted  her  and  broke  his  vow — 
after  he  went  to  Europe.  (Laughter.)  Who 
else  could  respond  to  that  toast  than  Carter 
Harrison,  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Chicago? 

Mayor  Harrison  arose  amid  great  applause 
and  said: 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen : — There  is 
much  that  is  personal  in  this  toast  that  has 
been  handed  me,  and  will  force  me  somewhat 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


H3 


to  be  what  the  papers  say  I  am — egotistical. 
(Laughter.)  It  goes  without  saying  that  the 
Mayoralty  of  Chicago  is  a  bed  of  roses. 
(Laughter.)  You  are  all  aware  there  is  an 
old  adage:  “There’s  ne’er  a  rose  without  its 
thorn.”  (Laughter.)  But  Chicago’s  Mayors 
have  felt  the  prickling  of  the  thorn.  (A  voice 
— You  are  right.)  You  who  have  read  daily 
the  Chicago  papers  know  that  the  bed  on 
which  lies  the  present  incumbent  of  the  May¬ 
oralty  is  one  where  to  each  petal  of  the  rose 
there  are  bushels  of  thorns.  (Laughter  and 
applause.)  Those  of  you  who  read  those  pious 
editions  of  the  Chicago  papers  published  on 
Sunday  (laughter),  to  prepare  our  minds  for 
holy,  religious  thoughts  (laughter),  know  that 
the  present  incumbent’s  bed  is  like  unto  that 
which  was  made  during  the  dark  ages  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  when  the  recalcitrant  heretic  was  placed 
upon  a  bed  heated  to  white  heat  (laughter);  it 


144 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


is  a  bed  of  dirt.  Yet,  my  friends,  there  are 
brightnesses  and  beauties  even  in  the  position 
of  mayor.  Not  the  least  of  them  is  that  which 
enabled  me  to  be  present  here  to-night,  to 
mingle  with  you  on  this  festive  occasion,  to 
participate  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  inaugura¬ 
tion  of  yonder  majestic  temple,  erected  in  the 
name  of  Americans’  worship — commerce;  dedi¬ 
cated  to  the  American’s  genius — trade.  (Ap¬ 
plause.)  We  take  from  our  mother’s  milk  a 
love  of  trade.  Our  New  England  cousins  did 
not  whittle  more  readily  than  they  swapped 
jack-knives  o’  Sundays  (laughter) ;  and  our 
Western  and  Southern  men  take  to  swapping 
horses  as  naturally  as  they  take  to  chawing 
tobacco.  (Laughter.)  Trade  is  our  worship, 
and  what  locality  in  the  world  is  such  an 
exemplar  of  trade  as  Chicago  ? 

This  paper  (the  sentiment  of  the  toast)  says 
that  Chicago  is  jealous  of  her  mayor-lover,  who 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


H5 


went  to  Europe  and  took  another  bride.  Ah, 
my  friends,  the  present  mayor  is  like  Father 
Abram  of  old.  who  had  Sarah,  his  beloved 
wife,  but  did  not  consider  it  very  bad  taste  to 
dally  a  little  with  Hagar.  (Applause  and 
Laughter.)  Chicago  should  not  be  jealous  of 
mv  other  bride,  for  I  sav  to-night  with  boldness 
that  I  am  a  polygamist,  i  Laughter. )  Chicago 
is  my  love,  and  a  love  that  will  never  die  out 
of  mv  heart;  and  the  wife  of  mv  bosom  at 

j  j 

home  is  not  jealous  of  my  love  for  my  city. 
{Applause.) 

Mv  friends,  why  is  it  that  Chicago  has  such 
wonderful  attractions?  The  ancient  court  of 
Rome  said  “  (Ditm  viwmus,  vivamus.  While 
we  live,  let  us  live.  Many  have  supposed  that 
that  was  the  expression  of  a  sensuous  mind, 
dreaming  only  of  pleasures.  The  thinking 
man  feels  that  it  was  philosophy — the  philoso¬ 
phy  of  the  man  of  action  who  does  not  wish  to 


146  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


vegetate,  but  wants  to  live  and  do  and  act. 
Thousands  of  years  of  mere  vegetation  is 
nothing  compared  with  a  few  years  of  active 
vigorous  life.  I  have  felt  myself  that  I  was 
privileged  to  come  into  this  breathing  world 
in  1825,  the  self-same  year  that  gave  birth  to 
the  snorting,  vapor-breathing  locomotive. 
Now,  sixty  years  have  rolled  over  us  since 
then,  and  in  that  sixty  years  what  giant  strides 
the  locomotive  has  enabled  the  world  to  make; 
strides  that  in  one  year  compass  more  space 
than  in  any  past  age  had  been  done  in  a 
century.  Need  I  say  that  I  congratulate 
myself  on  another  thing— that  one-half  of  my 
sixty  years  have  been  spent  here  in  Chicago. 
(Applause.)  It  is  my  boast  that  I  am  not  yet 
thirty  years  of  age.  On  the  12th  of  next 
month  I  will  be  thirty  years  old,  for  on  that 
day  I  first  appeared  in  Chicago  thirty  years 
ago.  (Applause.)  I  remember  well  after 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


147 


leaving  my  home — “My  Old  Kentucky 
Home” — in  this  month  thirty  years  ago,  seek¬ 
ing  a  new  home  in  the  Northwest,  where  there 
was  no  blighting  effect  of  slavery,  I  passed 
along  the  villages  on  the  Mississippi  River — I 
hope  the  Mayor  of  St.  Louis  will  forgive  me. 
(Laughter.)  I  visited  St.  Louis,  Keokuk, 
Burlington,  Davenport  and  Rock  Island.  Not 
being  able  to  decide  in  which  I  would  locate,  I 
started  home,  stopping  in  Chicago  merely  as  a 
wayside  station.  I  had  not  heard  of  it  before. 
I  got  here  at  night.  Ah,  my  friends,  this  toast 
says  “  Chicago,  the  young,  blooming  daughter 
of  the  prairie,  rising  like  a  fair  lily  from  her 
muddy  home.”  This  is  not  my  language — it 
is  your  eloquent  President’s.  (Applause.) 
When  I  woke  up  in  the  morning  Chicago  was 
lying  in  her  muddy  home — mud,  mud  every¬ 
where.  Four  squares  north  of  this  point, 
nearer  the  heart  of  the  city,  at  the  corner  of 


1 48  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


LaSalle  and  Madison,  was  a  scantling  stuck  in 
the  ground,  and  above  it  was  fastened  a  board, 
on  which  was  inscribed  “No  bottom  found 
here.”  (Laughter.)  Four  little  streets  had 
half  way  pavements  of  plank  from  which,  when 
a  wagon  rode  over  them,  the  liquid  mud  would 
fly  up  into  one’s  carriage,  and  when  the  unlucky 
mule  or  horse  got  over  the  plank,  the  driver 
used  the  classic  expression  “  Facilis  descensus 
Averni”  (Laughter.)  Close  by  here,  only  a 
block  and  a  half  away,  was  a  pond,  where  men 
went  shooting  ducks  on  Sunday,  and  Dr. 
Locke,  if  he  had  lived  in  the  center  of  the 
town,  would  not  have  known  that  Chicago  was 
being  desecrated  on  the  Sabbath.  (Laughter.) 

What  giant  strides  have  been  taken  since 
then.  But  to  go  farther.  After  wandering 
around  awhile  that  morning,  I  dropped  into  a 
real  estate  office.  At  that  time  the  Kentuck¬ 
ians  had  worked  up  a  real  estate  boom  in  Chi- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


149 


cago,  and  the  Kentuckians  had  a  corner  on  it. 
When  I  went  into  that  office,  I  saw  on  the  wall 
a  great  map  of  the  United  States.  Around  it 
was  congregated  a  number  of  gentlemen,  and 
one  eloquent  middle-aged  man  was  descanting 
upon  the  map.  He  pointed  out  the  great  chain 
of  lakes,  and  with  his  cane  he  marked  on  the 
map  where  would  be  the  Welland  Canal,  which 
would  allow  ships  from  Europe  to  enter  the 
port  of  Chicago.  Out  West,  where  now  is 
Dakota,  on  the  map  it  was  marked  “The 
American  Desert,”  and  there  was  an  angry 
body  of  Indians  looking  fiercely  toward  the 
East.  Down  on  the  edge  of  it,  where  now  is 
Wyoming,  was  a  small  herd  of  buffalo  snorting 
at  a  small  railway  that  William  D.  Ogden  and 
George  M.  Pullman  and  Marvin  Hughitt  had 
projected  into  the  far  West,  and  this  gentleman 
was  showing  on  the  map  the  mighty  acreage 
of  the  Northwest.  Where  then  there  was  sup- 


15O  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

I 

posed  to  be  sterile  plains,  are  now  fertile  fields. 
Where  then  were  roaming  buffalo,  to-day  the 
iron  horse  passes  through  hundreds  of  flourish¬ 
ing  villages  and  cities.  He  pointed  out  with 
his  cane  a  line  on  the  map  betwixt  here  and  the 
Illinois  River,  and  turning  to  me  as  I  stood 
there  in  wild-eyed  wonder,  he  said  “Young 
man,  you  will  live  to  see  the  day  when  Chicago 
will  have  over  1,000,000  of  people,  and  ships 
will  sail  from  Liverpool  to  Chicago,  and  steam¬ 
ers  greater  than  the  Eclipse  will  go  from  Chi¬ 
cago  to  the  crescent  city  of  the  South.”  That 
man  was  Chicago’s  first  mayor,  William  B. 
Ogden.  (Applause.)  The  virus  had  its  effect. 
I  took  the  disease.  (Laughter.)  I  was  Chi¬ 
cago-struck.  (Laughter.)  In  one  week  I  in¬ 
vested  all  I  had  in  Chicago  dirt,  and  like  many 
a  Board  of  Trade  man,  I  invested  a  great  deal 
more  than  I  had.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 
Since  then,  my  friends,  what  have  we  seen? 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  I  5 1 

Mr.  Storrs  to-day  made  you  an  eloquent  speech 
over  in  yonder  temple,  and  he  gave  you  a  good 
deal  of  delicious  taffy.  I  like  taffy  (laughter) 
when  taffy  is  good  and  taffy  is  deserved.  I 
noticed  that  members  of  the  Board  swallowed 
the  sugar  plums  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure. 
You  deserve  them,  my  friends,  you  deserve  all 
the  sugar-coated  plums  that  you  can  get,  for 
the  Board  of  Trade  has  marched  on  from  1855 
pari  passu  with  the  city  of  Chicago.  Mr. 
Storrs  told  you  that  you  had  to  be  coaxed  into 
your  building  down  on  the  corner  of  South 
Water  and  La  Salle  Streets;  that  sandwiches 
and  pie  were  necessary  to  get  you  to  go  “On 
’Change.”  That  year  19,000,000  of  bushels  of 
grain  were,  I  think,  all  that  were  received  in 
Chicago,  and  the  proud  boast  was  that  Chicago 
packed  55,000  hogs.  Fifty-five  thousand! 
Where  is  Phil  Armour?  One  day’s  pack¬ 
ing.  (Applause  and  laughter.)  How  you 


l52 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


have  marched  on  since  then.  Your  70,000 
people  have  become  three  quarters  of  a 
million.  Then  you  had  only  four  streets  that 
were  planked,  and  all  else  was  mud.  You 
have  to-day  150  miles  of  the  finest  roads  in 
America,  and  sixty-six  miles  of  boulevards  and 
park  driveways.  (Applause.)  In  the  three  past 
years  you  have  built  fifty  miles  of  stately  build¬ 
ings — fifty  miles  of  frontage,  at  a  cost  of  $25,- 
000,000.  You  are  taxed  less  than  any  city  in 
America;  less  per  capita  than  any  other  city. 
You  get  more  improvements  than  any  other 
city  in  a  given  year.  Is  it  not  enough  to  make 
the  mayor  of  Chicago  in  love  with  his  bride. 
(Applause  and  laughter.)  I  said  that  pari 
passu .  with  the  march  of  Chicago  was  the 
march  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  You  have  done 
much  to  help  us,  but  Chicago  has  done  much 
to  make  you.  Do  not  think,  my  stranger 
friends,  that  Chicago  is  great  because  she  has 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


153 


energetic  men.  Chicago  is  great  because  there 
is  something  inherent  in  her  that  makes  men 
energetic.  (Cries  of  ‘  Good,  Good.’)  There  are 
men  here  to-night  probably  who,  before  they 
came  here,  were  willing  to  sell  tape  by  the 
yard,  who  are  to-day  selling  dry  goods  by  the 
car-load.  There  are  here  grocers  who  were 
satisfied  in  other  cities  to  sell  molasses  in  win¬ 
ter  and  measure  it  out  by  the  gallon,  who  are 
to-day  sending  their  special  cars  all  over 
America.  Why  is  it?  It  is  because  Chicago 
makes  the  man.  (Applause.)  There  is  some¬ 
thing  in  the  locality  here  that  forces  men  to  be 
energetic.  The  man  that  stands  still  is  run 
over.  He  is  like  the  farmer  in  California  who 
planted  his  pumpkin  seed,  and  unless  he  hoed 
rapidly,  the  vine  would  cover  him  and  destroy 
him.  (Applause  and  laughter.)  Men  do  not 
get  tired  here  with  a  hard  day’s  work.  They 
may  be  wearied,  but  they  are  not  tired  out. 


154  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


When  they  go  home  to  sleep  at  night,  they  do 
not  swelter  in  the  sheets,  and  wet  them  with 
their  nervous  sweat,  but  they  wrap  themselves 
in  a  blanket  and  go  to  sleep  and  wake  up  in 
the  morning  refreshed  and  healthy.  Bob  In- 
gersoll,  who  never  said  his  prayers,  uttered  a 
wise  saying  when  he  said  that  it  takes  a  blanket 
in  the  summer  time  to  make  a  healthy  man. 
(Laughter.)  Chicago  makes  men  energetic. 
Men  cannot  help  being  energetic  here.  While 
I  congratulate  the  city  of  Chicago  on  having  a 
Board  of  Trade,  I  congratulate  the  Board  of 
Trade  on  having  located  itself  in  Chicago. 
(Applause  and  laughter.) 

The  boy  of  sixteen  said: 

“Who  shall  say  what  I  may  be? 

“  Who  shall  tell  my  fortune  to  me? 

“  For  bravest  and  brightest  that  ever  was  seen 

“  May  be  and  shall  be  the  lot  of  the  young.” 

Chicago  is  young;  she  is  in  her  infancy. 
The  eye  of  fancy  can  look  into  the  future. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


155 


Ah!  We  who  are  stepping  off,  my  friends, 
going  down  the  hill,  can  well  envy  these 
younger  men  who  can  see  that  limitless  future. 
What  shall  Chicago  be  hereafter,  made  up  of 
such  vast  agglomerations  of  men?  Irishmen, 
Germans,  Swedes,  Norwegians,  Spaniards, 
Italians,  Englishmen,  Frenchmen,  all  meet 
here  and  make  one  grand  composite  whole,  a 
united  composite  structure  which,  I  believe, 
will  give  tone  to  the  civilization  of  America. 
Midway  between  two  oceans,  we  do  not  have 
to  go  out  and  labor  for  our  bread.  The  gar¬ 
den  is  spread  around  us,  and  our  wives  and 
handmaidens  may  go  out  in  the  fields  that  are 
around  us  and  glean  of  the  wastage  and  feed  a 
million  here,  while  we  feed  countless  millions 
in  the  old  world.  You  people  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  are  to-day  making  a  war  between  En¬ 
gland  and  Russia.  (Applause  and  laughter.) 

Mr.  Storrs  said  to-day  that  you  gave  the  cue 


1 56  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


to  all  Boards  of  Trade,  and  say  what  the  price 
of  breadstuff's  shall  be  throughout  the  world. 
You  know,  my  friends,  that  in  the  last  week 
you  have  declared  war  and  made  peace  four 
different  times.  (Applause  and  laughter.) 
Do  you  wonder,  my  friends,  that  I  am  proud 
of  my  bride?  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Let 
her  not  be  jealous  of  me  or  of  my  other  brides. 
As  I  said,  I  am  a  polygamist.  Chicago  is  one 
wife.  To  her  my  every  vow  is  uttered  and 
is  sacred;  and,  as  I  said  before,  thank  God,  the 
little  woman  at  home  is  not  jealous.  I  thank 
you.  (Applause.) 


(MUSIC.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


157 


THE  ARMY. 

GEN.  SCHOFIELD. 

President  Blake  rapped  the  guests  to  order 
and  said  “About  a  year  ago.  it  was  my  priv¬ 
ilege  to  represent  Chicago  as  one  of  her  dele¬ 
gates  at  the  opening  of  the  New  York  Board, 
and  if  I  remember  rightly,  I  then  said  that  was 
not  the  day  nor  the  place  to  sound  Chicago’s 
praises,  but  that  in  the  not  far  distant  future 
Chicago  would  throw  wide  her  doors  and  invite 
those  persons  there,  and  then  would  be  her 
day.  I  appeal  to  President  Herrick  if  I  have 
not  kept  my  word,  and  if  Carter  Harrison,  our 
Mayor,  has  not  redeemed  my  promise.  (Ap¬ 
plause  and  laughter.) 

“  Gentlemen,  the  next  in  order  comes  ‘  Our 
National  Army.’  It  is  but  a  handful  of  brave 
men  with  a  continent  to  guard  from  savage 


158  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


hordes  and  from  selfish  strife.  All  honor  to  the 
‘brave  and  true.’  We  expected  Gen.  Schofield 
to  respond  to  that  sentiment.  His  letter  in 
reply  is  in  the  hands  of  Secretary  Stone,  who 
will  now  read  it  to  you.” 

Secretary  Stone  here  read  the  letter  from 
Gen.  Schofield  as  follows: 

Messrs.  E.  Nelson  Blake,  President,  and 
George  F.  Stone,  Secretary  of  the 
Chicago  Board  of  Trade: 

(Dear  Sirs : — I  have  received  your  kind  and 
complimentary  invitation  to  the  banquet  to  be 
given  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the 
new  Exchange  Building,  and  beg  you  to  accept 
my  sincere  thanks.  It  is  with  regret  that  I 
find  it  impossible  to  meet  the  Board  of  Trade 
of  the  city  of  Chicago  on  this  occasion,  which 
marks  an  important  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Chicago.  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  visiting 
a  distant  part  of  the  division,  to  attend  to  some 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


*59 


important  interests  of  the  little  body  of  men 
whom  the  sentiment  you  propose,  “The 
army,”  so  justly  and  generously  honors.  It 
would  give  me  pleasure  to  respond  to  so  hearty 
a  recognition  of  the  merits  of  the  body  to 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  belong,  and  to 
assure  you  how  highly  they  appreciate  the 
good  opinion  which  their  fidelity  to  duty  has 
won  from  their  fellow  citizens.  There  is 
nothing  else  which  the  army  prizes  so  highly 
as  the  implicit  faith  reposed  in  it  by  the 
country  ;  that  it  will  be  true  to  every  trust,  and 
firm  in  defense  of  the  right,  by  whomsoever  the 
right  may  be  assailed.  Please  accept  for  your¬ 
selves  and  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
my  congratulations  upon  the  great  prosperity 
which  has  characterized  the  business  enterprise 
of  the  city  of  Chicago. 

Very  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 

j.  M.  Schofield. 


i6o 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


NATIONAL  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 

PRESIDENT  FRALEY. 

President  Blake  arose  to  give  the  next  toast 
and  spoke  as  follows: 

“Gentlemen:  I  give  to  you  ‘Our  National 
Board  of  Trade,’  the  condensed  wisdom  of  us 
all,  ever  alive  to  the  best  commercial  interests 
of  the  entire  Nation.  We  welcome  their 
executive  council  to  our  table,  and  give  honor 
to  their  President.  Mr.  F.  Fraley,  of  Philadel¬ 
phia,  will  reply  to  the  toast.” 

The  venerable  representative  of  the  National 
Board  of  Trade  arose  from  his  seat  by  the 
President,  and  was  received  with  deafening 
applause.  He  responded  to  the  toast  in  the 
following  words: 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


1 6 1 


Mr.  (President,  and  my  friends  of  the  Chicago 
(Board  of  'Trade,  and  of  all  the  other  (Boards  of 
Trade  assembled  upon  this  floor:  How  is  it 
possible  for  me  to  reply  fittingly  to  such  a 
toast?  The  National  Board  of  Trade  is  com¬ 
plimented  as  “  the  condensed  wisdom  of  us 
all,”  of  all  the  Boards  of  Trade  in  the  United 
States.  We  can  not  fit  that  mantle  upon  our 
shoulders,  for  we  do  not  at  the  present  time 
embrace  all  the  Boards  of  Trade  in  the  United 
States  within  the  folds  of  our  National  garment. 
This  I  am  sorry  to  say;  but  we  hope  the  events 
which  have  been  celebrated  this  day  and  which 
have  been  dwelt  upon  by  so  many  eloquent 
speakers,  will  lead  the  strange  sheep  into  the 
common  fold,  and  that  before  another  year  the 
National  Board  of  Trade  will  encircle  at  its 
table  representatives  from  every  organized 
commercial  body  in  the  United  States.  But, 
my  friends,  let  me  dismiss  a  topic  which,  per- 


162 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


haps,  our  friends,  assembled  upon  this  occasion, 
are  not  at  present  disposed  to  receive  in  the 
full  sense  in  which  I  utter  it.  But  when  I 
listened  to  the  eloquent  addresses  this  morning 
made  in  that  magnificent  temple  of  commerce, 
which  has  been  dedicated  to  it,  and  I  heard  the 
utterance  that  the  commercial  men,  the  trading* 
men  of  the  United  States,  ought  to  be  leaders 
in  the  councils  of  the  Government,  I  felt  satis¬ 
fied  that  the  good  time  was  coming  when  their 
influence  would  be  recognized,  and  when  the 
concentrated  wisdom  of  the  country  would  be 
established  in  the  National  Board  of  Trade. 
(Cries  of  “  Hear,  hear,”  and  cheers.)  Leaving 
that  topic,  gentlemen,  and  entering  upon  one 
which  is  more  congenial  to  myself,  and  which 
I  hope  will  be  more  congenial  to  you.  I  refer 
to  a  passing  remark  of  my  esteemed  friend,  the 
Mayor  of  Chicago,  who  tapped  me  on  the 
shoulder  and  admonished  me  that  I  was  one  of 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  1 63 

those  who  are  passing  rapidly  to  that  bourne 
from  whence  no  traveler  returns.  (Cries  of 
“No,  no.”)  I  hope  that  that  intimation  of  his 
will  not  be  realized,  but  that  I  shall  be  permitted 
to  live  to  see  several  celebrations  of  this  kind 
in  the  different  cities  of  the  Nation,  and  to 
rejoice  with  my  brother  merchants  in  the  great 
prosperity  which  is  now  overflowing  upon  our 
beloved  country.  (Applause.)  I  stand  here 
to-night — I  am  afraid  to  say  when  my  memory 
begins.  I  am  afraid  that  some  of  my  friends, 
who  think  that  I  am  active  and  vigorous,  will 
not  realize  that  I  was  born  almost  in  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  present  century;  that  I  have  seen 
this  country  assume  the  vast  proportions  that 
it  has  been  described  to  possess  in  the  speeches 
which  have  been  made  to-day,  and  in  that 
elegant  speech  which  the  Mayor  of  Chicago 
has  just  delivered.  I  have  seen  it  pass  from  a 
population  of  7,000,000  of  people  up  to 


164  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


50,000,000  of  people.  I  have  seen  all  the 
changes  from  the  caterpillar  to  the  moth,  from 
the  moth  to  the  beautiful  illustration  of  what 
our  country  now  is.  I  have  seen  the  trade  of 
the  United  States  carried  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburg  in  Conestoga  wagons  of  2,000  to 
4,000  pounds,  and  compared  with  what  I  see 
to-day  in  the  whistling  locomotives  that  are 
roaring  from  the  prairies  of  the  great  West, 
the  great  advances  which  this  country  has  made 
in  population  and  civilization;  and  I  look  for¬ 
ward  to  that  bright  future  when  every  valley 
shall  be  covered  with  bristling  hamlets  and 
with  cities — not  quite  so  vast,  and  not  quite  so 
well  disposed,  not  quite  so  busy  in  the  marts 
of  commerce  as  the  city  of  Chicago,  but  cities 
that  make  up  the  great  whole  of  our  common 
country  and  reflect  upon  the  world  the  influence 
of  our  institutions,  and  of  our  civilization. 
(Cheers.)  I  marveled  to-day — yes,  marveled 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  I 65 

to-day  at  what  I  heard  of  the  rapid  strides  which 
Chicago  had  made  in  this  great  race  of  civiliza¬ 
tion  and  commerce.  I  recollected  while  I 
listened  to  the  elegant  words  of  Mr.  Storrs  and 
to  the  eloquent  words  that  were  pronounced  by 
gentlemen  from  other  sections  of  the  country 
of  what  had  been  accomplished  here  and  else¬ 
where,  and  I  recollected  during  the  war  of 
1812  when  this  country  could  not  make  a 
blanket  to  cover  the  shoulders  of  her  soldiers, 
and  that  the  men  who  marched  through  the 
streets  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York  in  those 
days  of  peril  and  contest,  upon  this  Northern 
frontier,  for  the  liberties  of  the  country,  for  free 
trade  and  sailors’  rights,  and  that  shoeless  and 
blanketless  they  went  on  to  victory,  which 
wrung  from  the  sovereign  of  Great  Britain  an 
acknowledgment  of  the  rights  for  which  they 
contended  and  which  opened  to  us  the  glorious 
future  which  we  now  realize.  (Applause.) 


1 66  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE  - 

Isn’t  it  well,  gentlemen,  that  we  should  be  proud 
of  such  a  country  as  this?  Isn’t  it  well  that 
we,  who,  as  my  friend  tells  me,  are  journeying 
toward  the  setting  sun  of  life,  should  cheer  on 
the  young  men  in  these  great  opportunities  of 
trade  of  the  great  West,  and  point  them  to 
the  past  and  show  them  what  has  come  out  of 
the  struggles  of  the  past  and  the  great  benefits 
and  advantages  that  they  enjoy  from  the  con¬ 
tests  of  the  past?  It  is  for  them  to  go  on  and 
perfect  the  great  work  that  their  fathers  begun. 
It  is  for  them  to  hold  up  the  great  banner  of 
the  Nation — the  glorious  flag  which  has  passed 
through  so  many  perils  and  which  now  floats 
over  a  united  Nation  and  a  happy  people,  from 
the  North  to  the  South,  from  the  East  to  the 
West.  To  that  West,  as  was  proclaimed  this 
morning,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  is  given 
and  a  welcome  to  every  man  who  participates 
in  the  great  struggle  of  trade,  and  that  we  know 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


167 


no  other  thing  than  one  country,  one  land,  one 
flag,  one  happy  people.  (Applause.) 


THE  PRESS. 

JOSEPH  R.  DUNLOP. 

President  Blake  then  arose  and  asked  the 
kind  indulgence  of  the  guests,  as  his  voice  was 
becoming  very  husky,  and  said: 

“Your  committee  on  Banquet  worked  one 
morning,  or  rather  all  night  till  4  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  but  we  do  not  intend  to  keep  you 
here  quite  so  late  to-night. 

“I  now  offer  to  you  this  sentiment:  ‘The 
Press;  the  mightiest  engine  of  modern  times, 
bearing  good  or  evil  to  a  learning  world;  a 
daily  visitor  of  whom  we  never  weary;  a  house- 


i68 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


hold  guest  we  would  not  spare.’  Mr.  J.  R. 
Dunlop,  President  of  the  Chicago  Press  Club, 
I  now  have  the  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you.” 

The  announcement  was  greeted  with  ap¬ 
plause. 

Mr.  Dunlop  arose  and  addressed  the  Pres¬ 
ident  and  guests  of  the  evening  in  behalf  of 
the  press  in  the  following  fitting  words: 

Mr.  Chairman ,  and  Gentlemen : — I  do  not 
know  that  I  fairly  represent  the  press  of  Chi¬ 
cago  in  its  character  as  a  molder  of  public 
opinion.  It  might  more  properly  be  said  that 
I  represent  the  working  forces  of  this  great  en¬ 
gine  of  modern  thought;  and  it  was  probably 
with  this  end  in  view  that  the  worthy  President 
of  your  Board  selected  me  to  respond  to  the 
sentiment  just  read.  I  may,  however,  be  per¬ 
mitted  to  say  a  few  words  relative  to  the  press 
and  its  close  connection  with  the  commercial 


interests. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


169 


It  has  been  said  that  war  makes  history,  but 
commerce  is  the  real  life  of  a  nation;  and.  as 
we  all  know,  hand  in  hand  with  commerce  goes 
the  press.  It  is  the  spirit  of  trade,  whose  rep¬ 
resentatives  you  are.  which  has  pushed  out 
into  even.'  comer  of  the  earth  where  anybody 
has  anything  to  sell  that  anybody  else  in  some 
other  place  wants  to  buy.  and  as  your  achieve¬ 
ments  are  accomplished  the  press  is  always  on 
hand  to  record  them ;  and  it  is  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure  the  restless  enemy  of  trade  that  makes 

o  * 

the  newspaper  of  to-day  possible.  This  morn¬ 
ing  you  dedicated  a  magnificent  temple  to  the 
purposes  of  commercial  life,  and  the  press  is 
glad  ol  the  opportunity'  to  say  that  it  is  a  far 
nobler  monument  to  the  o-enius  of  commerce 

o 

than  any  pyramid  which  towers  over  the  dust 
of  a  lorgotten  Pharaoh. 

Commerce  and  the  press  are  in  exceedingly 
close  relations,  and  there  is  a  striking  similarity 

O  J 


170  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


in  their  extraordinary  development.  Before 
the  mud  is  dry  in  the  chinks  of  a  pioneer  log 
cabin  in  a  new  settlement  the  clank  of  the 
presses  is  heard  advertising  the  wares  of  a 
backwoods  grocer,  whose  customers  pay  him 
a  buffalo  pelt  for  a  jug  of  bug  juice,  and  get  a 
couple  of  coon-skins  and  a  snare-trap  in 
change.  Beside  these  rude  beginnings,  in  a 
few  years,  the  development  of  both  is  like  that 
of  a  giant  tree  as  compared  with  the  tiny  seed 
from  which  it  sprang. 

Aside  from  the  functions  of  the  newspaper 
as  a  method  of  business,  its  mission  is  that  of 
a  public  educator.  It  first  gives  the  facts  which 
form  its  premises,  and  upon  those  facts  erects 

the  fabric  of  editorial  comment,  so  that  the 
wayfaring  man,  even  though  he  be  a  member 

of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  may  not  err  as 
to  the  proper  course  to  pursue.  And  in  order 
to  fulfill  its  mission  the  press  has  drawn  to  it- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  1 7  I 

self  the  resources  of  every  department  of  sci¬ 
ence  and  art;  it  has  utilized  a  thousand  inven¬ 
tions,  and,  lubricating  the  machinery  with 
brains  and  experience,  it  is  indeed  a  mighty 
engine,  pushing  the  world  onward.  Of  course 
it  sometimes  inadvertently  butts  its  head 
against  a  libel  suit,  but  those  are  only  minor 
mishaps  to  be  compared  with  the  splinters 
which  one  acquires  in  sliding  down  a  hemlock 
board  with  the  grain  turned  the  wrong  way. 
I  am  not  speaking  now  of  the  reckless  journal¬ 
ism  which  obtains  in  some  parts  of  the  country 
outside  of  Chicago,  but  of  the  course  of  news¬ 
papers  whose  managers  are  actuated  by  the 
best  of  motives.  You  must  remember  that 
each  day’s  issue  is  a  history  of  the  whole  world 
for  the  preceding  twenty-four  hours,  and  ob¬ 
noxious  paragraphs  will  find  their  way  in,  in 
spite  of  the  most  rigid  censorship. 

In  its  mere  mechanical  part  the  modern 


172 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


newspaper  strikingly  resembles  the  mechanism 
of  the  human  body,  From  a  central  point  it 
reaches  out  to  the  utmost  confines  of  the  earth, 
and  draws  in  and  assimilates  all  the  informa¬ 
tion  that  it  is  worth  while  to  know.  Wherever 
your  railroads  penetrate,  and  far  beyond,  on 
every  square  inch  of  the  ocean’s  surface  that 
throws  up  its  spray  before  the  cut-waters  of 
your  vessels,  there  goes  the  press,  and  with  its 
thousand  eyes  and  its  myriad  fingers  it  gathers 
up  the  scattered  threads  of  the  world’s  events; 
and  anything  worth  knowing  must  have  oc¬ 
curred  pretty  deep  in  the  jungle,  or  be  of  ex¬ 
ceeding  unimportance,  if  you  do  not  find  it 
photographed  in  printer’s  ink  on  the  following 
morning  at  the  maximum  price  of  5  cents  per 
copy.  The  chalk  figures  on  your  blackboards 
are  no  more  unseemly  to  the  eye  than  the  rude 
numerals  which  the  boys  used  to  make  on  the 
sidewalk  in  playing  hop-scotch;  but  the  mo- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


173 


ment  you  hang  them  up  the  eager  grasp  of  the 
press  is  upon  them,  and  over  mountain  and  un¬ 
der  the  sea  they  tear  along  the  wires,  carrying 
to  every  inhabitable  part  of  the  globe  the  quo¬ 
tations  of  the  market  which  sets  the  prices  of 
grain  for  the  world. 

The  influence  of  the  press  is  almost  univer¬ 
sally  for  good.  If  it  is  otherwise  in  particular 
instances,  if  its  tone  is  low  and  vicious,  it  is  so 
because  its  readers  hanker  after  that  kind  of 
mental  pabulum.  The  newspaper  is  as  sensi¬ 
tive  as  the  face  of  a  mirror  to  the  slightest 
breath  of  public  opinion,  and  the  happiest  indi¬ 
cation  of  the  healthy  tone  of  public  morals  is 
the  energy  and  heartiness  with  which  the  press 
grapples  with  cant,  or  any  piece  of  moral  wrong 
which  thrusts  its  head  into  public  view. 

In  closing,  permit  me  to  say,  Mr.  President 
and  gentlemen,  that  you  have  a  great,  an  ever- 
expanding  future  of  usefulness  before  you  in 


174  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


your  new  home,  and  in  that  future,  in  all  your 
efforts  to  cauterize  vicious  methods  and  to  fos¬ 
ter  legitimate  trade,  the  representatives  of  the 
press  of  Chicago  are  with  you.  The  boys  of 
the  Press  Club  will  stand  by  you. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


175 


THE  NEW  SOUTH. 

GENERAL  TREZEVANT. 

President  Blake  introduced  the  next  speaker 
of  the  evening-,  as  follows  : 

“  Peace  hath  her  victories  no  less  renowned 
than  those  of  war.  I  offer  to  you  to-night 
'The  New  South;  The  victory  of  peace  is 
there.  You  can  hear  it  in  the  hum  of  machin¬ 
ery,  and  in  the  tread  of  the  iron  horse.  You 
can  see  it  in  the  rising  palaces,  and  in  the  dust 
of  the  moving  hosts  ;  and  for  you  I  welcome 
to-night  their  messenger,  Gen.  Trezevant,  of 
Memphis,  Tenn. 

Gen.  Trezevant,  rising  to  respond  to  the 
above  toast,  was  greeted  with  applause.  He 
spoke  as  follows  : 


176  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Gentlemen  of  the  Chicago  (Board  of  Trade: 
I  congratulate  you  very  sincerely  on  the  com¬ 
pletion  of  the  enterprise  which  this  occasion 
celebrates.  Your  President  might  have  said 
to  you  that  he  notified  me  but  a  very  few  mo¬ 
ments  before  I  came  into  this  hall  that  I  should 
be  expected  to  respond,  and  I  therefore  ask 
your  greatest  indulgence.  Indeed,  I  am  re¬ 
minded  of  an  anecdote.  There  was  a  church 
in  the  far  West,  and  in  that  church  was  an  or¬ 
gan,  and  over  the  organ  a  sign  which  read  : 
“  Please  do  not  shoot  the  organist  :  He  is  do¬ 
ing  the  very  best  he  can.”  (Laughter.)  Gen¬ 
tleman,  I  am  going  to  do  the  best  I  can. 

In  the  name  of  “The  New  South,”  I  thank 
you  for  your  generous  hospitality  to-night,  and 
I  assure  you  it  would  give  us  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  return  it  at  any  time.  I  sincerely 
think  that  every  one  here  must  feel  as  I  do, 
that  Chicago  has  opened  her  heart  liberally 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


I  77 


and  generously  to  us  all.  Indeed,  gentlemen, 
from  the  sentiment  before  me  and  from  the 
banquet  at  which  I  have  partaken,  I  am  too 
full  for  utterance.  (Laughter.) 

“The  New  South/’  that  bright  star,  dimmed 
for  a  while  by  war,  pestilence  and  famine,  but 
destined  to  shine,  gentlemen,  with  more  splen¬ 
dor  than  ever.  This  new  South,  the  land  of 
my  birth,  the  home  of  my  boyhood  and  my 
manhood,  I  am  proud  of.  I  am  proud  to  rep¬ 
resent  her  to-night.  I  am  proud  of  the  mem¬ 
ories  that  cluster  around  her,  her  statesmen 
and  her  warriors.  I  am  proud  of  her  brave 
men  and  her  beautiful  women — and  I  believe 
they  are  the  fairest  on  God’s  earth.  (Ap¬ 
plause.)  I  am  proud  of  her  fortitude  in  war, 
and  her  energy  in  peace.  Twenty  years  ago 
when  we  returned  from  the  battlefields  to  our 
desolate  homes — ah,  gentlemen,  even  the  roof 
trees  were  gone  !  At  that  time  there  was  no 


178  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


regret,  there  was  no  repining  ;  with  one  sad 
tear  for  those  brave  comrades  whom  we  had 
left  behind,  we  truly  put  our  hands  to  the  plow 
and  we  made  the  waste  places  blossom  like  a 
rose.  Our  spears  were  turned  into  pruning 
hooks,  and  in  the  South  land  you  now  hear 
the  industry  of  every  kind  which  your  Presi¬ 
dent  has  depicted  more  truly  than  I  can. 

We  are  no  longer  a  land  exclusively  of  cot¬ 
ton.  If  you  want  iron,  or  wood,  or  coal,  or 
anything  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  come 
to  us  and  we  can  give  it  you.  We  can  sup¬ 
ply  it  in  any  quantity,  at  any  time.  We  will 
take  no  step  backward,  but  will  push  on  with 
an  energy  that  even  Chicago  shall  be  proud  of. 
(Applause.) 

And  now,  gentlemen,  allow  me  one  word  as 
to  the  war ;  allow  a  Southern  soldier,  in  behalf 
of  Southern  soldiers,  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the 
fortitude  of  the  great  captain  who  celebrated 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


179 


his  sixty-third  birthday  the  day  before  yester¬ 
day.  (Great  applause  and  cheering,  many  of 
the  persons  present  standing  up  and  enthusi¬ 
astically  waving  their  napkins  and  handker¬ 
chiefs.)  Gentlemen,  that  man  conquered  Fort 
Donelson,  he  conquered  Vicksburg,  he  con¬ 
quered  the  immortal  Lee,  and  it  seems  as  if  he 
conquered  death  itself.  (Great  applause.) 

Gentlemen,  again  I  thank  you,  especially 
that  you  have  not  shot  the  organist.  (Great 
applause.) 

President  Blake  asked  that  three  cheers  be 
given  Gen.  Trezevant,  which  were  heartily 
given,  and  Gen.  Trezevant  arose  again  and 
spoke  as  follows  : 

Gentlemen,  again  I  thank  you.  This  is  a 
kind  of  shooting  that  is  truly  grateful.  (Ap¬ 
plause.) 


i8o 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


THE  VENUS  OF  THE  LAKES. 

JOHN  JOHNSTON,  JR. 

President  Blake  :  “  Gentlemen,  I  wish  to  say 
in  justice  to  the  gentleman  who  speaks  next, 
as  I  should  have  said  of  Gen.  Trezevant,  that 
he,  also,  will  speak  at  very  brief  notice.  I 
offer  to  you,  gentlemen,  ‘The  Venus  of  the 
Lakes  ’ — Milwaukee — too  near  to  be  a  stran¬ 
ger,  too  far  to  be  a  part  of  us,  and  yet  our 
beautiful  sister. 

“The  ‘Rich  Land’-55'  of  the  Indian  has  re¬ 
deemed  its  name.  ” 

Mr.  John  Johnston,  Jr.,  arose  to  respond  to 
the  above  toast,  he  being  the  President  of  the 
Milwaukee  Board  of  Trade,  and  spoke  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 


*The  meaning  of  Milwaukee  is  “  Rich  Land.” 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


1 8 1 


Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen : — :I  thank  you 
heartily  for  the  kindly  sentiments  toward  Mil¬ 
waukee  which  have  been  expressed  in  the 
toast  just  given,  and  for  the  enthusiastic  recep¬ 
tion  with  which  it  has  been  received  by  this 
vast  and  representative  assemblage.  Be  as¬ 
sured,  Mr.  President,  that  the  members  of  the 
Milwaukee  delegation  here  present  esteem  it  a 
very  high  honor  indeed  to  be  the  means  of 
conveying  to  you,  the  members  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  of  Chicago,  the  most  hearty,  the 
most  cordial,  and  the  most  unreserved  congrat¬ 
ulations  of  the  members  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  Milwaukee,  and  of  her  citizens 
in  general,  on  the  auspicious  event  which  we 
have  met  this  day  to  celebrate. 

After  listening  to  the  eloquent  speeches  to¬ 
day,  it  seems  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision 
to  think  that  where  this  mighty  city  now 
stands,  with  its  750,000  inhabitants,  that  even 


182 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


where  yonder  temple  of  commerce  now  stands 
erected  by  the  munificence  of  the  merchant 
princes  of  this  great  city,  that  but  yesterday 
the  wild  beast  roamed,  and  the  red  man  waged 
his  unrecorded  battles;  and  I  venture  the  pre¬ 
diction — a  little  more  specific  than  the  predic¬ 
tions  that  have  heretofore  been  made — that  in 
less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  Chicago  will 
be  the  leading  city  of  the  American  continent. 
(Great  applause.) 

Now,  Mr.  President,  some  men  who  only 
look  at  the  surface  of  things  imagine  that  we 
in  Milwaukee  are  fearfully  exercised  over  the 
immense  growth  of  Chicago.  Nothing  can  be 
farther  from  the  truth.  Be  assured  that  there 
is  ample  room  on  the  western*  shores  of  Lake 
Michigan  for  two  great  cities.  (Applause.) 

Why,  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Sheffield  and 
Leeds,  four  of  the  greatest  cities  of  England, 
outside  of  London,  are  all  nearer  together 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  1 83 

than  Chicago  and  Milwaukee,  and  when  we 
contemplate  that  far  beyond  us  in  the  West, 
tributary  to  these  two  cities,  there  lies  a  region 
unsurpassed  in  all  the  resources  of  wealth  ; 
when  we  think  of  the  iron  and  the  coal,  of  the 
timber,  of  the  navigable  streams,  of  the  water 
power,  and,  above  all  those,  the  gardens  of 
the  desert  for  which  the  speech  of  England 
has  no  name  —  the  prairies  — and  when  we 
think  that  a  region  larger  than  half  Europe  is 
tributary  to  those  two  cities,  and  that  the  iron 
horse,  as  he  travels  over  these  thousands  of 
miles  laden  with  millions  of  tons  of  merchan¬ 
dise,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  men  and 
women,  quenches  his  thirst  first  in  the  waters 
of  the  great  lake  at  Milwaukee  or  Chicago, 
who  can  doubt  that  if  there  be  a  New  York  at 
the  head  of  Lake  Michigan,  there  may  not  be 
a  Boston  at  the  mouth  of  the  Milwaukee  River. 
(Applause.) 


184  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


The  toast  speaks  of  our  “Beautiful  Sister.” 
Now,  I  approve  of  that  good,  solid  sense. 
Your  classical  Mayor  alludes  in  several  Latin 
phrases  to  the  ancients,  and  I  would  take  the 
same  liberty  and  allude  to  the  fact  that  the  an¬ 
cient  Greeks  and  the  ancient  Romans  called 
all  the  cities  by  the  feminine  gender,  the  same 
as  we  do  now — sisters.  Now,  we  estimate 
women  not  so  much  by  their  size  as  we  do  by 
their  beauty.  (Laughter  and  applause.)  There¬ 
fore,  when  you  say,  “Milwaukee,  our  Beautiful 
Sister,”  I  feel  that  I  can  hold  up  my  head  here 
alongside  of  Chicago,  with  its  three-quarters 
of  a  million.  (Great  applause.) 

Mr.  President,  on  looking  over  that  illustri¬ 
ous  roll  of  names  which  composes  the  member¬ 
ship  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,  we  see  a 
very  large  number  of  them,  of  the  most  distin¬ 
guished  of  them,  who  took  their  first  lessons 
in  trade  in  Milwaukee  (applause),  .and  I 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  I 85 

believe  that  yet  they  have  a  warm  spot  in  their 
hearts  for  their  alma  mater ,  and  when  they  are 
tired  and  fagged  with  the  rush  and  the  din 
here,  they  can  come  up  to  Milwaukee,  where 
they  will  enjoy  the  comforts  of  peace  and 
happiness  and  contentment,  and  spend  the 
wealth  which  they  here  have  won. 

The  word  “sister”  is  one  around  which 
clusters  many  hallowed  associations  ;  and  if 
commerce,  whose  ministers  we  all  are,  had  its 
way,  every  city  in  the  world  would  be  a  sister 
to  every  other  city. 

The  allusion  has  been  made  to  you  gentle¬ 
men  making  war  and  peace  within  the  last 
week  ;  but  I  venture  to  say  that  if  it  was  left 
to  the  merchants  of  the  world,  war  would  be 
banished  forever.  (Great  applause).  I  venture 
to  say  that  if  the  Boards  of  Trade  of  Chicago 
and  Milwaukee  had  the  settlement  of  this 
Anglo-Russian  difficulty,  they  would  refer  it 


1 86  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 

to  a  board  of  arbitration,  and  in  twenty-four 
hours  it  would  be  all  settled.  (Great  ap¬ 
plause.)  I  believe,  Mr.  President,  that  the 
time  will  come  when  the  sweet  voice  of 
commerce  will  forever  drown  the  noise  of 
contending  armies.  I  believe  that  the  mer¬ 
chant  is  doing  more  than  all  other  agencies 
together  to-day  to  disband  the  standing  armies 
of  the  world,  and  to  bind  the  nations  closer 
in  the  bands  of  friendship.  Every  line  of 
telegraph  that  is  erected,  every  ship  that 
crosses  the  ocean,  every  tunnel  that  is  dug 
through  the  mountains,  every  lighthouse  that 
is  erected  on  the  headlands — all  tend  to  bind 
the  Nations  closer  in  the  bands  of  universal 
brotherhood,  and  to  hasten  on  the  time  when 
men  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares, 
and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks,  and  learn 
war  no  more  ;  and  let  us  pray  that  the  time 
may  come,  as  come  it  will,  for  a’  that,  when 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


.87 


man  to  man  the  world  o’er  shall  brothers  be, 
and  a’  that.  (Great  applause.) 


(MUSIC.) 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


188 


THE  CLERGY. 

THE  REV.  DR.  LOCKE. 

President  Blake  then  said  : 

‘‘Gentlemen,  I  am  saving  the  best  for  the 
last.  I  offer  you  now  a  sentiment  that,  hilar¬ 
ious,  and  happy,  and  gay  as  we  may  ever  be, 
will  always  receive  a  hearty  response  with  us. 
‘The  Clergy  —  breaking  the  Bread  of  Life, 
laboring  in  white  J  harvest  fields,  sowing  in 
tears,  reaping  in  joy,  they  are  ever  welcome 
to  our  Board.’  I  call  upon  Dr.  Locke.” 

Dr.  Locke  then  arose  and  said  : 

This  is  the  third  time  you  will  have  heard 
from  me  to-day,  gentlemen,  and  I  can  say, 
like  the  last  two  speakers,  that  I  also  have  to 
speak  without  much  preparation.  I  suppose 
many  of  you  were  surprised  at  seeing  a  send- 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


189 


ment  to  the  clergy  included  among  the  others. 
I  suppose  there  are  quite  as  few  clergymen 
operating  on  the  Board  of  Trade  as  there  are 
Board  of  Trade  men  operating  in  pulpits. 
(Laughter.)  But  one  common  bond  unites  us. 
I  and  you  can  say  in  St.  Paul’s  words,  “We 
are  citizens  of  no  mean  city.”  He  said  it  of  a 
little  city  of  Silicia,  of  which  scarcely  a  pillar 
remains  to  mark  its  site.  We  say  it  of  this 
queen  city,  in  whose  splendid  crown  we  have 

to-day  set  so  fair  a  jewel.  Certainly  the  cler¬ 
gyman-citizen  can  neither  be  a  good  citizen 

nor  a  good  clergyman  unless  he  is  interested 
in  the  weal  and  the  woe  of  the  city  where  his 
lot  has  been  cast.  Certainly  he  before  all 
other  men  should  re-echo  that  classic  senti¬ 
ment,  “Nothing  human  is  foreign  to  my 
thought.”  I  can  say  for  myself  that  I  am 
heart  and  soul  bound  up  in  the  interests  of 
Chicago.  (Cheers.)  I  staid  once  three  weeks 


190 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


in  the  house  of  a  Boston  man,  and  he  said  to 
me  :  “I  am  perfectly  astonished  that  you  have 
never  bragged  about  Chicago.”  (Laughter.) 
I  was  sorry  that  I  could  not  return  the  com¬ 
pliment  and  say,  “  Neither  have  you  bragged 
about  Boston,”  but  that  would  have  been  ex¬ 
pecting  too  much  from  a  citizen  of  the  “Center 
of  the  Universe.”  (Laughter.)  But  because  I 
did  not  brag  does  not  prove  that  I  do  not  love 
it.  I  love  it  with  a  love  too  deep  for  surface 
words.  I  love  its  energy,  I  love  its  charity. 
I  have  spent  a  great  part  of  my  life  in  trying 
to  make  its  citizens  better  men  and  women, 
with  more  or  less  success  (laughter),  and  there 
is  a  large  band  of  my  brethren  to  whom  I  am 
ministering,  who  give  their  lives  and  their 
thoughts  to  this  one  thing.  There  are  splendid 
examples  of  Christian  manhood  in  Chicago, 
very  many  on  this  Board  of  Trade.  We  labor 
to  make  you  righteous  and  honest,  and  you 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE.  191 

are  doing  very  great  things  toward  upholding 
the  churches  in  which  we  labor.  Each  one  is 
trying  to  do  his  part,  and,  I  repeat,  sometimes 
with  very  poor  success,  but  at  least  with 
encouragement  enough  for  both  sides  to  go 
on.  Chicago  is  proud  of  its  churches,  and  its 
ministers  are  proud  of  Chicago,  and  all  will 
say  that  there  is  no  greater  help  to  a  clergy¬ 
man  than  a  God-fearing,  upright  business  man. 
They  are  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  church, 
just  as  they  are  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  a  broad,  manly,  upright, 
bold  religion  must  be  preached  to  them,  or 
else  the  churches  will  be  abandoned  to  women 
and  children.  (Cheers.)  Woe  to  our  land,  I 
say,  when  that  day  comes,  for  with  the  advance 
of  irreligion  will  come  the  advance  of  immor¬ 
ality  and  communism,  and  everything  that 
would  drive  this  fair  land  down  to  the  gulf  of 
ruin  and  despair.  (Cheers.) 


ig2 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


\ 


OVER  THE  SEA. 

WILLIAMSON. 

President  Blake  arose  and  said  : 

“  I  have  now  to  propose  to  you  ‘Our  brethren 
from  over  the  sea.’  Brethren  by  rights,  and 
though  in  a  strange  land  to-day,  they  can  hear 
a  friendly  tone,  and  see  a  friendly  face,  for 
their  friends  and  neighbors  are  here  before 
them.  A  common  ancestry,  a  common  lan¬ 
guage,  a  common  civilization  unites  us.  I  call 
upon  Mr.  Williamson,  of  Liverpool.” 

Mr.  Williamson  spoke  as  follows  :  I  am 
sorry  that  the  Liverpool  Corn  Association  have 
not  a  more  able  representative  to  speak  for 
them  to-night ;  but  this  I  can  say,  that  no 
member  of  that  association  has  ever  received 
more  kindness  in  any  part  of  the  globe  than  I 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


193 


have  received  in  all  America,  and  particularly 

f 

in  Chicago,  and  it  is  the  greatest  pleasure  for 
me  to  be  present  on  this  occasion,  and  also  to¬ 
day,  when  you  dedicated  the  noble  structure 
you  have  erected,  beautiful  and  chaste  in  de¬ 
sign,  and  I  trust  it  will  add  twenty  years  to  the 
life  of  each  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 
We  have  never  been  able  to  catch  up  with  you 
in  Liverpool,  and  generally  lag  a  good  bit  be¬ 
hind,  but  I  trust  that  this  new  building  will  be 
a  source  of  great  benefit  to  both,  financially 
and  in  every  point  of  view.  I  thank  you  most 
kindly  for  the  courtesies  you  have  shown  me, 
on  behalf  of  my  own  country,  and  particularly 
Liverpool.  (Cheers.) 


194 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


OUR  MERCHANTS. 

N.  K.  FAIRBANK. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Williamson’s 
remarks,  President  Blake  arose  and  said  : 

“  Gentlemen  of  the  Board  and  PYiends  :  I 
know  you  will  not  forgive  me  if  I  do  not  give 
you  a  brief  opportunity  to  hear  from  the 
author  of  ‘  Fairbank’s  Cherubs.’  (Cheers.) 
I  offer  this  sentiment:  ‘Our  merchants,  drawn 
from  the  progressive,  active,  earnest  young 
men  of  the  East.  They  have  carried  Chicago’s 
trade  and  name  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
Northwest.  We  welcome  them  as  co-laborers 
with  us.’  I  call  upon  Mr.  Fairbank.” 

Mr.  Fairbank  responded  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen :  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  you  ought  to  omit  this  toast,. 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


195 


because  our  Mayor,  with  his  comprehensive 
mind,  has  taken  in  and  elucidated  the  subject 
that  I  had  thought  to  speak  of,  and  that  was 
the  idea  of  Chicago  making  the  merchant, 
instead  of  the  merchant  making  Chicago.  I 
had  built  all  my  sentiment  on  that  one  thought, 
and  had  made  it  a  very  fine  one,  and  I  had 
asked  the  President  to  omit  that  toast,  and  I 
thought  he  would,  but  he  didn’t.  (Laughter.) 
That  thought  is  a  very  true  one,  and  speaking 
for  the  merchants  of  this  city  I  cannot  believe 
that  they  are  the  very  able,  extraordinary  mer¬ 
chants  which  the  toast  and  our  friends  think 
they  are.  It  is  because  they  live  in  this  great 
city,  among  great  things,  and  surrounded  by  a 
great  country  which  has  built  up  an  enormous 
trade.  They  are  peculiarly  fortunate  in  having 
their  lines  cast  in  such  a  goodly  city,  and  with 
such  an  enormous  trade  to  drop  into  their  laps. 
That  they  have  met  the  responsibilities  of  the 


196  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


occasion  no  one  will  deny.  Chicago  develops 
men.  As  our  friend,  Mr.  Johnston,  said,  we 
have  among  our  prominent  merchants  citizens 
of  Milwaukee,  who  came  down  here  and  have 
grown  to  be  the  great  merchants  that  they  are. 
It  is  the  effect  that  I  heard  of  produced  upon 
a  very  prominent  member  of  the  New  York 
Stock  Exchange.  He  was  met  in  the  street 
by  an  old  friend  from  Baltimore,  who  had  not 
seen  him  for  a  great  many  years,  and  he  said 
to  him,  “Why,  William,  it  seems  to  me  you 
stammer  more  than  you  used  to.”  His  friend 
replied,  “Yes,  it  is  a  b-b-bigger  city,  this  is.” 
(Applause  and  laughter).  Chicago  produces 
that  same  effect.  A  man  is  a  remarkably  good 
business  man  in  Milwaukee,  but  he  rises  to  be 
a  great  deal  larger  one  when  he  gets  to  Chi¬ 
cago,  because  the  necessities  of  the  occasion 
make  him  a  greater  man.  You  have  heard  a 
great  deal  about  Chicago,  and  about  what  we 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


197 


think  of  it  here.  Our  Mayor  has  told  you  of 
the  glories  of  the  future  of  Chicago,  but  still 
there  is  one  thing  about  it  which  you  may  not 
have  thought  of.  It  was  suggested  by  a  distin¬ 
guished  literary  man — Artemus  Ward — who, 
speaking  of  the  different  cities  of  the  country, 
once  said  that  New  York  was  a  great  flourish¬ 
ing  city,  sitting  at  the  gates  of  the  commerce 
of  the  world,  and  was  destined  to  grow  to 
enormous  size.  San  Francisco,  too,  was  a 
great  city,  commanding  the  trade  of  the  East, 
and  must  grow  to  a  great,  wondrous  and  beau¬ 
tiful  city.  Of  Chicago  he  said,  that,  sitting  here 
in  the  midst  of  these  prairies  and  commanding 
the  commerce  which  she  would  command,  she 
would  be  a  great  city  but  for  one  drawback, 
and  that  was  that  she  lacked  confidence  in  her¬ 
self.  (Applause  and  laughter.)  You  gentlemen 
from  abroad  who  have  heard  the  speeches 
here  to-night  from  our  Chicago  friends  will 


1 98  DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


appreciate  this.  (Laughter  and  applause.)  But 
it  is  late,  and  I  will  only  say  a  word  further, 
and  that  is  that  I  assure  you,  gentlemen,  and 
our  friends  from  abroad,  that  the  merchants  of 
Chicago  appreciate  their  responsibilities.  They 
appreciate  the  importance  of  the  trade,  and  I 
pledge  to  you  that  they  will  guard  strictly  the 
integrity  of  their  trade  and  their  commerce,  so 
that  it  shall  be  said  in  years  to  come,  as  a 
respected  friend  of  mine,  whom  you  all  know, 
— Mr.  McClellan,  of  Montreal — said  to  me  here 
this  evening  that  he  had  traded  in  Chicago 
for  thirty  years,  and,  in  all  the  transactions  that 
he  had  ever  had  here,  he  could  say  that  no 
man  ever  wronged  him  of  a  dollar.  (Ap¬ 
plause.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


199 


GENERAL  RESPONSES. 

President  Blake — “There  is  one  thing 
about  lawyers — they  possess  great  versatility 
of  talent.  ‘Our  railroads/  bonds  of  iron  and 
bands  of  steel,  binding  us  to  distant  lands. 
Their  warning  tones  are  ceaseless  on  the  Chi¬ 
cago  air  ;  their  mighty  tread  is  ever  heard  in 
our  streets,  and  we  welcome  their  harsh  music. 
Mr.  Storrs  has  consented  to  say  a  few  words 
in  response  to  this  sentiment.” 

Mr.  Storrs — “Is  it  understood  that  this  is 
to  be  the  last  speech  ?” 

President  Blake — “This  is  the  last  and  the 
best.” 

Mr.  Storrs — “And  no  limitation  as  to  time?” 

Pi  resident  Blake — “No  limitation.” 


200 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Mr.  Storrs  responded  to  the  sentiment  as 
follows  : 

Within  the  last  three  minutes  I  have  been 
invited  to  respond  to  this  toast,  and  with  my 
limited  knowledge  of  the  subject,  I  shall  be 
unembarrassed  by  the  facts,  and  can 

“  Wander  in  maiden  meditation,  fancy  free.” 

(Laughter.)  If  a  man  knows  a  little  of  what 
he  is  talking  about,  like  our  worthy  Mayor, 
(laughter  and  applause),  he  never  knows  when 
he  makes  a  mistake  (laughter).  That  railroads 
are  useful  and  worthy  institutions  I  have  no 
doubt,  and  that  they  are  necessary  to  the 
growth  of  this  city  or  any  other  city;  but  they 
are  by  no  means  beneficent  institutions,  and 
were  never  devised  for  merely  benevolent  pur¬ 
poses.  They  were  organized  because  the 
necessities  of  commerce  and  trade  and  general 
traffic  demanded  them,  and  they  are  an  essen¬ 
tial  part  of  the  civilization  of  this  century.  So 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


201 


far  as  Chicago  is  concerned,  the  most  notable 
feature  in  the  history  of  railroads  is  that  this 
night  we  have  learned  for  the  first  time  that 
the  best  Mayor  Chicago  ever  had  and  the 
locomotive  were  born  in  the  same  year  (laugh¬ 
ter  and  applause) ;  and  there  is  another  coinci¬ 
dence  equally  remarkable  in  the  lives  of  the 
two  great  institutions — that  they  have  been 
blowing  off  steam  ever  since.  (Laughter  and 
applause.)  I  have  now  said  all  that  I  desire  to 
say  on  the  subject  of  railroads.  (Laughter.) 
I  propose  for  the  next  thirty  or  forty  minutes 
(laughter  and  applause)  to  devote  myself  to 
more  entertaining  topics.  First,  as  to  some 
characteristics  concerning  the  city  of  Chicago, 
a  city  about  which  you  have  heard  some  men¬ 
tion  made  to-day  and  perhaps  yesterday,  the 
leading  feature  of  which  was  barely  hinted  at 
by  Mr.  Fairbank- — its  lack  of  confidence  in 
itself.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 


202 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


It  is  but  rarely  that  we  have  an  occasion  to 
talk  about  Chicago.  In  view  of  its  tremendous 
growth  we  are  compelled  to  do  it  with  bated 
breath.  It  speaks  for  itself.  Its  best  story  is 
its  truest  story.  Its  highest  encomium  is  found 
in  its  record.  Gentlemen,  a  city  is  not  great 
merely  because  it  is  big.  This  city  is  great 
because  of  two  or  three  things,  neither  of 
which  have  this  evening  been  mentioned. 

The  city  of  Chicago  was  not  made  entirely 
by  Chicago  men.  In  a  majority  of  instances, 
accident  and  good  luck  have  brought  the  pres¬ 
ent  residents  of  this  city  here.  This  city  of 
Chicago,  great  and  strong  and  vigorous,  is 
great  and  strong  and  vigorous  because  it  em¬ 
bodies  and  is  the  spirit  made  manifest  in  the 
flesh  of  its  citizens,  of  a  great,  active,  dead- 
earnest  Americanism  (cries  of  “Good,  good”) 
— a  nationality  of  the  very  largest  proportions. 

We  have  done  better  things  than  building 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


203 


warehouses.  We  have  achieved  greater  things 
than  the  increase  of  our  trade  in  some  directions 
five  hundred  fold.  We  have  accomplished 
grander  things,  and  which  will  live  longer  in 
history,  than  running-  up  .  a  population  of 
700,000.  We  have  wrought  results  that  will 
live  longer  in  this  world’s  records  than  piling- 
up  this  mighty  volume  of  our  trade  and  com¬ 
merce. 

Let  me  tell  you  two  or  three  of  them.  This 
is  the  only  city,  this  is  the  only  State  in  all  the 
Union  that  filled  its  quota  without  a  draft,  and 
did  it  because  of  its  splendid,  exalted,  public 
spirit. 

After  the  great  fire  the  city  incurred  an  in¬ 
debtedness  of  about  twelve  millions  of  dollars. 
It  issued  its  certificates,  and  the  courts 
declared  them  absolutely  worthless  in  the 
hands  of  the  holders.  What  did  the  city  do? 
It  let  its  streets  go  unlighted,  reduced  its 


204 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


police  force,  left  its  streets  unpaved,  and  the 
city  of  Chicago  paid  the  debt  binding  nothing 
but  its  honor  years  and  years  before  its  matu¬ 
rity.  (Applause.) 

That  is  what  makes  us  proud  of  Chicago; 
and  I  submit  to  you,  gentlemen  from  other 
cities  of  the  country  and  from  other  countries, 
that  we  have  a  right  to  be  proud.  (Cries  of 
“good,  good,”  and  applause.)  This  was  to 
Chicago  and  its  magnificent  merchants  so 
natural  a  thing  to  do,  that  it  remains  for  liter¬ 
ary  men  and  clergymen  and  lawyers  to  make 
mention  of  it.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

And  that  is  not  all.  It  is  not  altogether  true 
that  the  merchants  have  not  made  Chicago, 
and  that  Chicago  has  made  the  merchant.  I 
am  not  a  merchant,  and  I  am  a  more  compe¬ 
tent  judge  than  the  merchants  themselves. 
Do  you  tell  me  that  N.  K.  Fairbank  has  done 
nothing  for  Chicago?  Will  you  tell  me  that 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


205 


Marshall  Field  has  done  nothing  for  Chicago? 
Do  you  tell  me  that  Phil  Armour  and  Sam  Al- 
lerton  and  George  Irwin  and  that  good  old 
Hiram  Wheeler — God  bless  him  ! — and  George 
M.  Pullman  have  not  contributed  to  making 
this  city  what  it  is  ?  (Applause.)  Why,  these 
men  have  made  the  spirit  of  this  city — these 
men  and  their  associates  in  business.  They 
have  made  Chicago.  This  is  the  honest  truth 
about  it.  They  have  made  the  Chicago  that 
the  world  to-day  delights  to  honor. 

This  country  is  not  merely  great  because  of 
its  prairies  and  mountains  and  great  lakes. 
Athens  was  great,  not  because  of  its  popula¬ 
tion,  wealth,  trade,  or  territorial  extent,  but 
because  of  a  few  men  —  Socrates,  Pericles, 
Demosthenes,  Phidias  —  who  have  carried  its 
fame  down  through  the  centuries.  The  same 
sky  bends  over  Athens  that  did  two  thousand 
years  ago  ;  the  soil  is  about  the  same  ;  but 


206 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OE  THE 


the  men  are  gone  !  Take  the  men  out  of  Chi¬ 
cago,  and  it  would  not  be  ten  years  before  we 
would  be  a  sister  city  to  Milwaukee.  (Laughter 
and  applause.)  Take  the  men  out  of  Chicago, 
and  it  would  not  be  long  before  a  comparative 
census  between  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  would 
tell  another  story.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 
What  makes  the  difference  between  Milwaukee 
and  Chicago  ?  It  is  the  fact  that  Milwaukee’s  men 
have  moved  here.  (Laughfer  and  applause.) 
What  makes  the  difference  between  the  East 
and  Chicago?  It  is  a  fact  that  the  men  of  the 
East  have  moved  here.  We  have  the  Bible 
for  it:  “The  wise  men  come  from  the  East.” 
(Laughter.)  The  record  is  silent  upon  the 
subject  of  their  ever  going  back,  and  the  fair 
inference  is  that  they  remained. 

And  so  I  insist  upon  it,  that  modest  as  the 
merchants  here  are,  a  truthful  story  might  as 
well  be  told  about  them.  The  men  of  the 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


207 


Northwest  have  made  this  empire.  It  was  the 
men  of  New  England  who  made  New  Eng¬ 
land,  and  not  its  gray,  inhospitable  skies. 
When  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago  in 
that  cold  climate,  in  the  worst  month  in  the 
year,  those  few  men  landed  on  a  rock  covered 
with  ice  and  snow,  there  was  no  country  to 
welcome  them.  “What  constitutes  a  State?” 
We  have  the  old  poem  for  it.  It  is  “  men,  high- 
minded  men.”  The  fact  is  that  the  riffraff  of  the 
East  are  gathered  here.  (Laughter.)  We  are 
all  carpet-baggers.  We  came  here  with  noth¬ 
ing  but  the  lessons  of  thrift  and  frugality  that 
we  learned  at  our  old  homes.  But  just  think 
of  it  ;  here  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  the 
carpet-bagger  has  planted  a  tree  not  quite  yet 
in  its  fruit,  but  splendid  in  its  blossoming,  and 
its  exquisite  perfumes  have  floated  all  around 
the  world,  and  inspired  in  all  other  nations  a 
hope  of  liberty.  So,  I  say,  all  hail  to  Chicago! 


208 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


The  men  of  Chicago  elected  our  Mayor. 
(Laughter  and  applause.)  It  is  the  men  of 
Chicago  who  have  reared  this  magnificent 
structure  which  we  dedicated  to-day.  Now,  I 
take  issue  with  another  observation  that  Chi¬ 
cago  worships  trade.  It  does  not.  It  follows 
trade  ;  it  drives  trade  ;  it  does  not  worship 
trade.  It  pursues  trade  for  a  purpose  and  a 
laudable  purpose.  But  let  a  period  of  trouble 
or  real  peril  come,  when  great  public  interests 
are  involved,  and  see  how  quick  trade  will  kick 
the  beam.  The  Chicago  merchant  would  strip 
himself  in  a  moment,  and  say:  Perish  busi¬ 
ness  ;  sink  trade  deeper  than  ever  plummet 
sounded,  in  order  that  private  and  public  credit 
be  maintained. 

Moreover,  it  was  only  a  few  years  since 
when  great  alarm  prevailed  throughout  the 
East  lest  we  in  the  West  should  be  debauched 
by  inflation  of  the  currency.  There  was  never 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


209 


the  slightest  occasion  for  the  alarm,  and  the 
key  note  for  honest  money  was  struck  in  this 
imperial  city,  and  in  the  proud  State  of  Illinois, 
so  proud,  so  splendid  in  its  history  and  in  its 
men,  when  it  buried  the  heresies  of  dishonest 
fiat  money  under  a  majority  of  over  forty  thou¬ 
sand.  (Laughter.) 

And  so,  when  you  are  in  trouble  down  East, 
come  to  us.  We  were  born  there.  Our  heart¬ 
strings  have  been  stretched,  but  they  have  not 
been  broken.  They  run  back  to  those  thou¬ 
sands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  dear  old  fire¬ 
sides  in  New  York,  New  England,  Pennsylva¬ 
nia,  and  far  away  down  South,  and  we  will 
here  rear  a  structure  so  splendid  that  its  dome 
will  catch  the  earliest  dawn  and  reflect  the 
sunshine  of  an  honestly  achieved  prosperity. 
Every  year  we  make  pilgrimages  most  sacred 
in  their  character  to  those  old  hearthstones  ; 
to  those  old  firesides  ;  and  how  proud  we  are 


2  10 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


no  one  can  tell  when  we  unfold  the  record  and 
look  the  dear  old  fathers  and  mothers  in  the 
face  and  say  :  “Are  we  not  worthy  sons?”  Into 
the  current  of  our  busy  lives  of  to-day  have 
been  poured  all  the  incentives  to  honorable  am¬ 
bition,  all  the  illustrious  examples  which  have 
preceded  us. 

Our  national  character  is  the  crystalization 
of  all  our  history.  It  is  the  equable  poise  of 
Washington  ;  it  is  the  philosophical  serenity  of 
Jefferson  ;  it  is  the  calm,  tranquil  good  sense 
of  Lincoln  ;  it  is  the  sturdy  resolution  of  Jack- 
son  ;  it  is  the  indomitable  will — -God  bless  him 
— of  Grant  (Cheers) ;  it  is  the  songs  that  have 
been  sung  by  our  poets,  and  the  dreams  that 
have  been  dreamed  by  our  great  thinkers.  All 
these  go  to  make  up  our  national  character. 
Gentlemen,  we  have  passed  through  one 
mighty  peril  ;  we  may  reach  another  ;  but  I 
believe  we  can  rely  upon  our  men  to  carry 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


21  I 


us  through  it.  I  believe  that  this  city  shall 
be  made  glorious  by  all  that  the  arts  and 
the  sciences  and  the  loftiest  literature  and 
the  solidest  and  most  practical  piety  can 
make  it. 

The  Board  of  Trade  members  do  not  come 
down  town  at  first  loving  one  another,  but 
they  are  compelled  by  their  rules  to  arbitrate 
their  differences,  and  by-and-by  they  get  to  do 
from  liking  what  they  are  compelled  to  do  by 
their  constitution  and  by-laws.  And,  gentle¬ 
men,  finally,  we  do  not  forget  that  in  the  main 
we  are  citizens  of  a  common  country;  that  in 
the  main  we  are  pursuing  the  same  mission  ; 
that  in  the  main  we  desire  peace  ;  and  that 
always  we  desire  peace  at  home.  But  do  not 
forget  in  the  midst  of  this  jubilant  talk  that  we 
are  American  citizens.  First,  achieve  for  our 
own  country  all  the  prosperity  that  we  know 
what  to  do  with,  and  what  is  left  over  we  will 


2  I  2 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


agree  to  divide  equitably  among  all  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth. 

I  will  close  by  saying  that  there  has  been  no 
over-praise,  there  has  been  no  buncombe 
about  what  Chicago  has  done.  You  have  not 
half  told  your  own  story,  and  I  do  believe  that 
if  you  were  to  get  the  Mayor  into  a  corner 
where  no  one  could  hear,  ply  him  with  ques¬ 
tions  and  drive  him  to  an  answer,  you  could 
get  him  finally  with  bated  breath,  and  in  whis¬ 
pered  accents,  to  admit  that  probably  he  was 
the  best  Mayor  Chicago  ever  had.  (Laughter 
and  applause.) 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE. 


213 


I 


THE  LADIES. 

Mr.  Hodson  responded  to  the  toast  as  fol¬ 
lows  : 

I  am  reminded  that  twenty-five  years  ago 
with  my  mother  I  came  to  this  very  city,  and 
resided  here  under  mother’s  influence  two 
years.  Then  my  fortune  bade  me  leave.  In  an 
all-wise  providential  moment  I  was  taken  to 
New  York.  Frequently  have  I  visited  this 
city,  but  never  once  have  I  forgotten  the  words 
that  my  mother  said  to  me  when  she  left  me 
twenty-three  years  ago.  “I  hope,”  she  said, 
“you  will  remember  one  thing,  and  never  for¬ 
get  it :  the  slightest  dishonor,  the  slightest 
neglect  to  a  mother,  to  a  lady,  will  disgrace 
me,  your  mother.”  (Applause.) 


2  14 


DEDICATION  EXERCISES  OF  THE 


Gentlemen,  the  last  speaker  paid  honored 
tribute  to  men.  In  my  mind  was  the  thought 
when  the  Honorable  the  Mayor  of  this  city 
was  speaking  :  what  would  we  be  but  for  the 
men  ?  but  the  powers  behind  the  throne  win 
us  and  move  us  more  than  any  other  consider¬ 
ation.  Who  does  not  feel  their  influence,  their 
power,  silently,  sweetly  felt  so  many  times  ? 
Shall  we  ever  regret  that  we  ever  thought  of 
mother,  of  wife,  of  sister,  of  daughter  ? 

And  I  thought  when  in  that  elegant  hall  to¬ 
day,  as  I  sat  and  wondered — wondered  as  I 
thought  I  never  did  before — and  I  don’t  know, 
but  I  think  if  a  proposition  was  made  to  me 
now  it  would  not  be  very  hard  to  win  me  back 
to  Chicago  ;  but  my  lot  is  cast  elsewhere.  One 
thing  occurred  to  my  mind  :  before  leaving- 
home  I  said  to  my  wife,  “  If  I  am  dead  and 
buried  before  I  get  back,  you  will  know  what 
killed  me.”  Well,  she  was  a  little  bit  startled, 


CHICAGO  BOARD  OF  TRADE 


2I5 


and  looked  up  and  said,  “Well,  what?”  1 
said,  “  It  will  be  the  hospitality  of  Chicago.” 
(Applause.) 

President  Blake  :  Only  one  minute  more 
will  I  keep  you.  It  has  been  suggested  to  me 
that  the  gentlemen  at  these  tables  would  like 
to  offer  a  vote  of  thanks  to  our  host,  Mr. 
Drake.  Do  I  hear  a  motion  ? 

A  motion  was  promptly  made  and  seconded, 
offering  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  host  of  the 
evening,  Mr.  John  B.  Drake,  for  the  generous, 
kind  and  hospitable  manner  in  which  he  had 
treated  the  guests  of  the  evening,  and  the 
response  in  the  affirmative  left  no  room  for 
doubt  as  to  the  sentiments  of  the  gentlemen 
present. 

President  Blake  then  arose  and  said  : 

“  Gentlemen,  one  single  word  before  you 
leave  this  room.  As  the  representative  of  the 


216  dedication  exercises  of  the 

Board  of  Trade  of  the  city  of  Chicago  I  wel¬ 
comed  you  ;  as  the  representative  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  of  the  city  of  Chicago  I  now  say  to 
you,  good  night.” 

Three  cheers  each  were  given  for  Mr.  Blake 
and  Mr.  Drake,  and  the  banqueters  left  the 
hall. 


